The Biden administration will move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, months after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended a change in status.
The White House and Department of Justice declined to comment, but a source familiar with the development confirmed it.
The Associated Press first reported the development.
If enacted, the measure wouldn’t legalize marijuana. Rescheduling marijuana is distinct from descheduling it entirely, which some advocacy groups and lawmakers have called for, as it could still lead to legal action against those found to be in possession of it in states where the drug is not legal.
This decision could also give President Biden a boost among younger voters. Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and strategist who serves as president of Lake Research Partners, previously told The Hill that action on marijuana scheduling would signal that Biden is a “modern president.”
Public opinion leans strongly in favor of marijuana legalization, with a Gallup poll from November finding that a record 70 percent said they were in favor of it. A group of Democratic senators issued a letter to the DEA last week calling for marijuana to be descheduled entirely.
Marijuana has been listed as a Schedule I drug for more than 50 years, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.
Schedule III drugs are considered to have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Substances within this category include ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said the move would bring the U.S. one step closer to ending the “failed war on drugs.”
“Marijuana was scheduled more than 50 years ago based on stigma, not science. The American people have made clear in state after state that cannabis legalization is inevitable,” Blumenauer said. “The Biden-Harris Administration is listening.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
The Biden administration will soon propose reclassifying marijuana from the most severe Schedule I to Schedule III. There are numerous steps left in the process to move from a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposal to final policy, but the move would represent a major shift in federal drug policy. It would mark the first time the U.S. would recognize there are some potential benefits to marijuana and allow …
Women should start regular mammography screenings at age 40 and continue every other year until age 74, an expert advisory panel said Tuesday. Citing the increase in breast cancer among younger women, the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) changed their previous guidance, which recommended biennial mammograms starting by age 50, but said the decision for women in their 40s “should be an individual one.” “Fundamentally, …
Vaping by young people led to increased risk of lead and uranium exposure, according to a new study. The study, published Monday in the journal Tobacco Control, found that both people aged 13 to 17 who used e-cigarettes in timespans lasting six to 19 days and over 20 days in the previous month had higher urine lead levels than those who only used e-cigarettes for one to five days in the last month. Those who used e-cigarettes …
The House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic holds a hearing Wednesday with EcoHealth Alliance president Peter Daszak.
The Senate HELP Committee holds a Thursday hearing on the shortage of minority health professionals and the maternal care crisis.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read:
What marijuana reclassification means for the United States
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis, but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. The proposal would move marijuana from the “Schedule I” group to the less tightly …
Thursday, May 8 at 8 a.m. ET — Top of the Hill, Washington, D.C. | In person and streaming nationally.
Join The Hill’s cancer summit where administration officials, lawmakers, patient advocates, doctors and scientists weigh in on how to accelerate critical research and equity with the goal of putting an end to cancer.
Another day of testimony has wrapped in former President Trump’s hush money trial on Tuesday. The day saw a host of witnesses take the stand, … Read more
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is on the way out. But he’s not going quietly. A GOP free agent of sorts, McConnell helped convince … Read more
Marijuana business owners hoping to benefit from the Biden administration’s move to reschedule the drug may be in for disappointment, according to experts. The administration announced plans Thursday to move forward with a rule that would ...
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Biden announces DOJ marijuana move The Justice Department (DOJ) took a major step towards rescheduling marijuana, formally starting the process to move the ...
A deal to allow the Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler to cash out his mining positions in the Democratic Republic of Congo has enraged human rights activists and some government officials.
Former President Trump said Friday evening he thinks the “inner halls” of the White House should apologize for the New York hush money case Trump faces, and that the case should be dropped. “There is virtually universal agreement of the fact that ...
The White House hit back against House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) speech before the Israeli government’s legislative body on Sunday, when she attacked President Biden for his policy approach to Israel and the war in ...
Three imperatives are in order if the U.S. is to eliminate our friends' fear and dash the our rivals' hopes about a voluntary U.S. departure from global leadership, and if we are to build the strong alliances needed for freedom to prevail in the ...
Jailed former White House economic adviser Peter Navarro predicted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would get the boot in a second Trump administration. “My guess is that this punctilious non-economist will be gone in a hundred days one way or ...
The White House blasted former President Trump on Tuesday after he shared a video on Truth Social that referenced a "unified Reich" if he won a second term, calling it "dangerous and offensive." "It is abhorrent, sickening, and disgraceful for ...