The president’s government Joe Biden is preparing to classify marijuana as a drug with the same level of risk as prescription drugs such as anabolic steroids. The historic decision was anticipated by the US media: the Washington Post and the television networks MSN, CNN and NBC cited White House officials as sources.
Since 1971, marijuana in the United States has been classified in the same category as heroin, methamphetamine, and LSD. “The administration will take a historic step toward easing federal restrictions on cannabis and plans to soon announce an interim rule that will reclassify the drug for the first time in more than 50 years,” the Washington Post said. It is expected that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) approves a Department of Health and Human Services opinion that marijuana should be moved from a more severe to a less severe category.
According to media reports, the measure, if it goes into effect, would not immediately legalize marijuana at the federal level, but it could expand access to the drug for medicinal uses and strengthen the cannabis industry in states where it is legal. Currently, marijuana for recreational use and limited to those over 21 is legal in 24 states. Marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal in 13 states in addition to those where pleasure use is permitted.