U.S. DOJ Proposes Moving Marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III; Approval Would Ease Criminal Penalties

The U.S. Justice Department announced today that the Attorney General Merrick Garland has submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the Federal Register, initiating a formal process to consider rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This rescheduling would significantly alter marijuana's legal status, reducing federal criminal penalties associated with its use and acknowledging its accepted medical use in treatment within the United States. Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug since Congress enacted the CSA in 1970. On October 6, 2022, President Joe Biden requested that the attorney general and the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) conduct a scientific review of marijuana's classification under federal law. Following HHS’s recommendations last August, the Garland sought legal advice from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on relevant questions. Considering HHS’s medical ...