WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders hailed it Wednesday as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.
Marijuana plants grow May 12 at a facility in Washington County, N.Y. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration move marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, the first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the agency has responded to President Joe Biden’s request “to provide a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA.â€
“We’ve worked to ensure that a scientific evaluation be completed and shared expeditiously,†he added.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that HHS had recommended that marijuana be moved from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance.
“HHS has done the right thing,†Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “DEA should now follow through on this important step to greatly reduce the harm caused by draconian marijuana laws.â€
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Rescheduling the drug would reduce or potentially eliminate criminal penalties for possession. Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD.
According to the DEA, Schedule I drugs “have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.â€
Schedule III drugs “have a potential for abuse less than substances in Schedules I or II and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.†They currently include ketamine and some anabolic steroids.
Biden requested the review in October 2022 as he pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession†of marijuana under federal law.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a statement calling for marijuana to be completely descheduled. “However, the recommendation of HHS to reschedule cannabis as a Schedule III drug is not inconsequential,†he added. “If HHS’s recommendation is ultimately implemented, it will be a historic step for a nation whose cannabis policies have been out of touch with reality.â€
Bloomberg ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ first reported on the HHS recommendation.
In reaction to the Bloomberg report, the nonprofit U.S. Cannabis Council said: “We enthusiastically welcome today’s news. … Rescheduling will have a broad range of benefits, including signaling to the criminal justice system that cannabis is a lower priority and providing a crucial economic lifeline to the cannabis industry.â€
Photos: Once-standout DEA agent says war on drugs is 'unwinnable'
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. “You can’t win an unwinnable war. DEA knows this and the agents know this,†Irizarry says. “There’s so much dope leaving Colombia. And there’s so much money. We know we’re not making a difference.†(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
This photo provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration shows U.S. currency confiscated in "Operation White Wash" in 2016. The long-running overseas investigation resulted in more than 100 arrests and the seizure of more than $100 million and more than a ton of cocaine. (DEA via AP)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. After years of portraying Irizarry as a rogue agent who acted alone, U.S. Justice Department investigators have made an abrupt shift, following his confessional roadmap to question as many as two-dozen current and former DEA agents and prosecutors accused of turning a blind eye to his flagrant abuses and sometimes joining in. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Irizarry says dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as “Team America†that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, sits during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, pauses during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. He was betrayed by one of his closest confidants, a Venezuelan-American informant who confessed to diverting funds from the undercover stings and making cash payments to his longtime handler. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, stands for a portrait during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Irizarry’s downfall was as sudden as it was inevitable — the outgrowth of a lavish lifestyle that raised too many eyebrows, even among colleagues willing to bend the rules themselves. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
Jose Irizarry, a once-standout DEA agent sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to launder money with a Colombian cartel, speaks during an interview the night before going to a federal detention center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Irizarry’s downfall was as sudden as it was inevitable — the outgrowth of a lavish lifestyle that raised too many eyebrows, even among colleagues willing to bend the rules themselves. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
FILE - Former DEA agent Jose Irizarry arrives at the United States Courthouse in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. Federal Judge Charlene Honeywell who sentenced Irizarry said he was “the one who got caught but it is apparent to this court that there are others.†(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
This booking photo provided by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in August 2022 shows Michael Zoumberos. Zoumberos is the brother of one of Jose Irizarry’s former partners who partied and traveled around the world with DEA agents. He was jailed in March after refusing to testify to a federal grand jury investigating misconduct in the DEA. "I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m not going to talk about my brother,†Zoumberos told AP. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office via AP)