US drug control agency will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift, AP sources say
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple-effects across the country.
The DEA’s proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.
The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in over 50 years can take effect.
Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids, following a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public-comment period the agency would publish the final rule.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8
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The laws were used unfairly by cops against blacks and other minorities for 100 years. Meanwhile the white kids from "nice" families were getting off with a light fine, or sometimes not even that much. Cops used the marijuana laws as a reason to stop and inspect the cars of black drivers. Then it's "Oh, looky here, see what I found!" Evidence could be easily planted by cops if they didn't actually find it there.
This shit has to end. Yes some drugs are dangerous and should remain illegal, they enable an underclass of dealers and distributors. But marijuana is a plant that grows wild in the USA, or it used to. Tobacco causes more deaths than marijuana, so why isn't tobacco illegal?
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