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The move would align marijuana more closely with other drugs that are often used for medicinal purposes, but that doesn’t mean pot will be legalized. Emilija Manevska/Moment/Getty Images The US Department of Justice said Thursday that the attorney general has begun a rule-changing process that if finalized would reclassify marijuana as a schedule III drug. It’s been considered a schedule I drug since the 1970s, putting it in the same federal legal class as drugs like heroin.
Drugs are scheduled , in part, by a judgment of whether they serve a medical purpose, or how much that purpose outweighs the risk of dependence or abuse (someone becoming physically addicted or someone using a drug outside a purpose that’s prescribed or allowed). In the DOJ’s posted notice of the rule, the agency said it’s changing marijuana’s schedule because the Department of Health and Human Services has found that marijuana has accepted medical uses.
Despite marijuana being legal in some US states for medicinal or recreational purposes, this week’s announcement has been considered historic because it represents a shift away from rules many politicians and health experts have said don’t align with marijuana’s actual risk-benefit profile.
What does this change mean for consumers? As of now, nothing at all. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, and there’s a 60-day window during which members of the public can submit opinions to the Drug Enforcement Administration before the rescheduling is finalized. Some harm-reduction and medicinal-use advocates are also pushing for additional action from lawmakers that may have more impact on how people are criminalized for using or selling marijuana, and on how federal rules line up with state laws .
Here’s what to know.
Best Weed Accessories and Gadgets See at Cnet Is weed now legal at the federal level?
No. Changing how marijuana is scheduled doesn’t decriminalize it. Until a final rule is published, […]
US Government Moves to Reclassify Weed, Citing Medical Uses: What to Know
