The Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal agency in charge of narcotics, plans to move the plant from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of its drug schedule, according to the Associated Press. A turning point after decades of war on marijuana.
Towards historic change in the country of the war on drugs? According to an article published this Tuesday, April 30 by the Associated Press (AP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the famous American federal agency responsible for combating drug trafficking and distribution in the United States, has planned to reclassify cannabis in its table of narcotics. According to AP, this reclassification project would recognize the medical uses of cannabis by ruling that this substance would present less risk of abuse than some of the most dangerous drugs in the country, such as Fentanyl or Xylazine.
According to AP, the Department of Justice, which oversees the DEA, has recommended that cannabis be classified as a so-called Schedule 3 drug, with moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. For the moment, cannabis is included in Schedule 1, reserved for drugs with a high potential for abuse and which do not have widespread medical use in the United States, alongside narcotics such as LSD or ‘heroin. With this bill, cannabis would therefore join substances with widespread medical utility in the United States and would then be placed with ketamine or even anabolic steroids. Enough to open the door to a historic modification of American drug policy.
However, it must be remembered that Schedule 3 drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations. People who traffic in it without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution. And before being validated, the DEA proposal must still be examined by the Office of Management and Budget of the White House, whose task is to assist the President of the United States in the preparation of the budget of the nation. But this prospect has already caused the markets to react: the shares of American cannabis companies have jumped in the markets where they are listed. Those of Tilray, Trulieve Cannabis Corp and Green Thumb Industries increased by more than 20% late Tuesday afternoon.
“Too many lives have been disrupted because of our failed approach to marijuana”
If finalized, this reclassification of cannabis would mark the biggest change in federal cannabis policy in the 40-year war on drugs across the Atlantic. On the other end of the spectrum, advocates of the plant argue that cannabis should be removed from the list of controlled substances altogether, and instead be regulated, like alcohol.
The federal grip has already begun to loosen around the plant. Two years ago, in October 2022, US President Joe Biden decided to overturn the federal convictions of Americans for cannabis use or possession. “No one should be imprisoned for simply using or possessing cannabis. he insisted, before emphasizing that a “complete decriminalization”which he does not demand, can only be a decision of Congress.
“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed unnecessary barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” commented Joe Biden once again in December 2023. “Too many lives have been disrupted because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time to right these wrongs,” added the President of the United States.
In the United States, federal drug policy lags behind many states. In recent years, 38 states, including California and Nevada, have legalized cannabis for medical purposes and 24 have legalized its recreational use, such as South Dakota and, more recently, New York State in 2021.
Legislative changes which have clearly contributed to fueling the rapid growth of the cannabis industry in the United States, whose value is estimated at nearly $30 billion. On the federal level, this reclassification of cannabis in Schedule 3 of the Schedule of Narcotics could also considerably facilitate research on the plant, since it is very difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule 1 substances.