Reclassification of Marijuana

The Justice Department May 16 took steps to reclassify marijuana from its Schedule I designation that it has held for more than 50 years, to a lower-risk drug.

The proposal, which now enters a two-month comment period and runs short of decriminalization, would expand researchers’ access to marijuana and allow cannabis producers to deduct business expenses on their tax returns. 

Following the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, the federal government listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which is the most restrictive of five classes of controlled substances. It is considered to have no accepted medical benefit and a high potential for abuse. The classification places marijuana in proportion to heroin and ecstasy and above fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended marijuana be reclassified to Schedule III, treating it as a lower-risk substance alongside ketamine and testosterone. Marijuana is legal for recreational use in 24 states and for medicinal use in 38.

Complete decriminalization of marijuana could be accomplished through Congress with legislation removing the drug from the Controlled Substances Act