Justice Department moves forward with easing federal restrictions on marijuana

[Pelican Press 0]

Justice Department moves forward with easing federal restrictions on **********

Washington — The Justice Department officially proposed a new rule on Thursday that would reclassify ********** as a Schedule III *****, a policy move that would ease restrictions on cannabis on the federal level if ultimately approved. 

While the rescheduling of ********** would neither make the substance legal nor decriminalize it across the nation, changing the classification from its current Schedule I status to Schedule III would bring the ***** into regulatory parity with other substances, like ketamine and anabolic steroids.

The ***** Enforcement Administration currently classifies ********** as a substance that has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for ******.” The proposed rule would shift the DEA’s treatment of the ***** to one that has “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”

The proposal kicks off a months-long comment and administrative *******, meaning the rescheduling would not immediately take effect. After 60 days, officials will make a final determination before the rule is officially published. 

In 2022, President Biden asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department to examine the DEA’s ********** classification. According to a Justice Department memo published last month, HHS “concluded after reviewing several studies that there was some credible scientific support that ********** could be used effectively” in certain medical situations.

“No professional medical organization currently recommends use of **********,” the memo said, adding that “one recommends against its use.” Dozens of states already allow ********** to be used for medicinal purposes or recreationally.

The notice of proposed rulemaking sent to the Federal Register on Tuesday said the attorney general “concurs with HHS’s recommendation, for purposes of initiation of these rulemaking proceedings, that ********** has a potential for ****** less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II.” 

Mr. Biden called the move “monumental” in a video posted Tuesday and noted ********** policy has been a priority of his administration. 

Last year, the president moved to pardon thousands of Americans convicted at the federal level for simple possession of cannabis and urged governors to do the same. Advocates for a policy change, including Mr. Biden, have said ********** scheduling has unduly affected ********* populations and have resulted in harsh prison sentences for mere possession.

News of the proposed rescheduling broke in late April after Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DEA submitted the rule to administration officials for review. Critics of the move — including multiple former officials at the DEA who spoke with CBS News — said at the time that the administration was making a mistake because of risks posed by the *****’s side effects. And the new rule, they said, would be a gateway to more dangerous substances.

Pat Milton contributed to this report. 

Robert Legare

Robert Legare is a CBS News multiplatform reporter and producer covering the Justice Department, federal courts and investigations. He was previously an associate producer for the “CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell.”

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