CV NEWS FEED // The Biden administration’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Tuesday announced a new rule that seeks to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I substance to Schedule III – a category encompassing “less dangerous” drugs.
Axios reported that “[t]he new rule, which has to be approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget [OMB], would recognize medical uses of marijuana and that it has less potential for abuse than other drugs.”
“It would not legalize cannabis outright for recreational use,” Axios added.
FOX News noted that this “planned move by the Biden administration comes during an election year.”
Marijuana was first classified as a Schedule I drug back in 1970, when a Democratic-controlled Congress passed and Republican President Richard Nixon signed the bipartisan Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
This classification placed marijuana in the same category as heroin, LSD, MDMA (commonly known as “ecstasy” or “molly”) and peyote. The DEA regards these drugs as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
According to the DEA, Schedule III drugs “are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Examples include anabolic steroids and ketamine.
Between these two categories is Schedule II drugs – a tier which includes highly addictive and deadly substances such as cocaine, crystal meth, and fentanyl.
The DEA is an agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Health economist David Bradford called the Biden administration’s decision to reschedule marijuana “the most significant change to federal drug policy in 50 years.”
The planned move received mixed reactions from Congressional Republicans.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, appeared to celebrate the announced rescheduling on X (formerly Twitter), writing that it is “[m]ajor news for businesses, tax deductions, [and] research barriers.”
Mace is widely considered to be a “socially moderate” Republican, specifically on the issues of abortion and same-sex “marriage.”
However, Rep. Andy Harris, MD, R-MD, a pro-life Catholic anesthesiologist, disagreed.
“Removing restrictions on an addictive gateway drug like Marijuana is a dangerous mistake,” he wrote on X. “Numerous studies, including a recent and reputable study published by JAMA, points to the negative impact recreational marijuana has on the body and brain.”
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“If the Biden Administration follows through with rescheduling, this decision will be anti-science and harmful to public health and safety,” the doctor and lawmaker emphasized.