- The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday forwarded its recommendation to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III controlled substance to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review and finalization. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Schedule I substances, such as heroin and LSD, have high abuse potential with no accepted medical use under federal law. Schedule III substances, like ketamine, are prescription drugs that have low to moderate potential for abuse. Forbes (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Once the Federal Register publishes the recommendation, the Justice Department (which oversees the Drug Enforcement Administration) will formally initiate a rulemaking process under the Controlled Substances Act. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The rescheduling recommendation would, if passed, ease restrictions and recognize the medical uses of marijuana, but it would reportedly fall short of legalizing the drug's recreational use. FOX News (LR: 4 CP: 4)
- In January, the US Food and Drug Administration researchers supported marijuana's reclassification as a Schedule III substance, arguing it had a lower potential for abuse than similar drugs on Schedules I and II. US News & World Report
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the US, with at least 48.2M Americans using it in 2019. CDC
Establishment-critical narrative:
- The DEA shouldn't change course on marijuana, which remains a gateway drug and grossly threatens public health and safety. Reclassifying the substance, which has a high potential for abuse, as a less dangerous drug could only give a political boost to Pres. Joe Biden among left-leaning marginalized voters.
USA TODAY (LR: 3 CP: 5)
Pro-establishment narrative:
- The Biden administration must end the federal prohibition on marijuana and address longstanding harms caused by the failed war on drugs. It's time the US corrects decades of outdated federal policy, acknowledges the medical benefits of the long-criminalized drug, and opens up the doors to more research and investment in the marijuana sector.
THE HILL
Nerd narrative:
- There's an 80% chance that cannabis will be removed from Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)