The United States Health and Human Services Department has released an over 250 page document explaining their rationale for wanting the DEA to reschedule marijuana.
In August the Department sent a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officially requesting marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, which would effectively legalize it for prescription use across the United States. The letter came in response to a request by President Biden last year for the government to research and consider rescheduling marijuana.
Now, the agency has released documents – albeit heavily redacted documents – that explain why the Department believes marijuana should be moved to schedule III. The release of the documents came after a pair of attorneys requested them through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
In the documents, the Department points out that medical marijuana does have accepted medical value, something that flies contrary to its status as a schedule I drug which indicates it’s highly addictive with no known medical use.
In September congressional researchers released a report stating that the DEA is “likely” to reschedule marijuana, with many believing it will be done prior to the 2024 presidential election.
Earlier this week a coalition of six governors sent a letter to President Biden urging his administration to reschedule marijuana by the end of the year.
Also this month, a coalition representing thousands of military veterans sent a letter to President Biden asking that his administration reschedule marijuana in a “timely” manner.
