Justice Dept. Plans Reclassification of Marijuana to Less Dangerous Drug

WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a recommendation for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to relax restrictions on marijuana.

A notice of rulemaking the Department of Justice published in the Federal Register would shift cannabis from the highly restrictive Schedule I classification under the federal Controlled Substances Act to a more loosely regulated Schedule III.

The proposal represents the biggest change in drug policy since marijuana was criminalized more than 50 years ago.

For the growing number of cannabis dispensaries in the Washington, D.C., area, it means they will need to register with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Currently the region’s more than dozen dispensaries are regulated only by local authorities.

Although the dispensary owners are resisting federal oversight by the DEA, they are unlikely to give up their hefty earnings from cannabis products. Together they earned $36 million in 2022, which are the latest figures released by D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration.

DEA officials say they plan to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug after review and approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Schedule I refers to high-level illegal drugs like heroin that carry felony penalties.?

Schedule III is considered dangerous only when it is abused but is not strictly enforced for possession of it. Other Schedule III drugs include steroids and ketamine.

Under the proposed rule change, the DEA would treat cannabis dispensaries like pharmacies with strict reporting requirements. The agency would allow sales of cannabis for medical reasons but would continue to ban recreational use.

The DEA is proposing the rule change on a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The DEA is a division of the Justice Department.

“Once published by the Federal Register, it will initiate a formal rulemaking process as prescribed by Congress in the Controlled Substances Act,” a Justice Department statement said.

Biden first recommended a review of federal marijuana law in October 2022. About the same time, he pardoned thousands of persons convicted on federal charges of possession of marijuana.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

There are about 15,000 cannabis dispensaries nationwide that would be affected by any DEA rule change.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.