In a historic shift, the Drug Enforcement Administration is planning to recommend reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, moving it from a Schedule 1 classification, alongside drugs like heroin and ecstasy, to a Schedule 3 drug, like ketamine, steroids and testosterone, sources told ABC News.
A source confirms that the Department of Justice on Tuesday will send its recommendation to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which will review it, further solidifying a process that will then take several more months.
The White House declined to comment, referring all question to DOJ, which is also not commenting.
The Office of Management and Budget will soon initiate a public comment period before the issue gets sent back to DOJ to run their own process, which will include hearings and a review by an administrative judge.
Advocates for the legalization of marijuana gather in front of the White House during a demonstration, April 2, 2016 in Washington, DC.
Mike Theiler/AFP via Getty Images
The change is far from finalized and, even if approved, the move would not legalize marijuana outright.
However, rescheduling marijuana would have sweeping ramifications for how the federal government treats the drug — in terms of medical research, taxation and more — as marijuana has become more widely used across American society.
A majority of states have also legalized marijuana use to varying degrees, including for medicinal purposes, according to the Pew Research Center.
A marijuana plant is visible at Compassionate Care Foundation’s medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
Julio Cortez/AP, FILE
“We classify marijuana at the same level as heroin – and more serious than fentanyl. It makes no sense,” President Biden tweeted in October 2022, when he asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. attorney general to begin this review process.
Since then, Biden has also pardoned thousands of people convicted for federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. If the drug is reclassified to Schedule 3, it could impact those charges at the state level.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.