For over half a century, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. That designation places it in the most strictly regulated category of drugs under federal rules, and means that a drug has “high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.” Marijuana’s Schedule I classification puts it in the same class of drugs as heroin.
The Biden administration will finally be putting an end to this ludicrous designation, according to four sources with knowledge of the decision who tell NBC News that the Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug. That category is far less strictly regulated, and it acknowledges a drug’s potential medical utility. It places marijuana in the same category as drugs such as steroids and Tylenol with codeine.
It speaks to how much attitudes toward marijuana have changed in the U.S. in recent years that this change could be a political win for Biden.
This move is way, way overdue, but I’ll take it. It’s a rare moment of rational drug policy at the federal level, and it should help pave the path for safer, more informed marijuana use. It speaks to how much attitudes toward marijuana have changed in the U.S. in recent years and could be a political win for Biden.
The Biden administration’s expected reclassification of marijuana will have a major impact on the status of the drug in the U.S. Due to its Schedule I classification, marijuana has been extremely difficult to study. The restrictions were justified in part by the absurd circular reasoning of Schedule I classification: since marijuana is officially deemed medically useless, the high regulatory bar for research has blocked the capacity of scientists to ascertain many of its medical benefits. Given that marijuana has already been legalized or made available for medical purposes in many states, we desperately need more science-backed information about safe usage, short-term risks and long-term risks as legalization increases usage. (Marijuana is far, far safer than commonly depicted in the reactionary war on drugs hysteria — no adult has ever overdosed on the drug, for example — but that doesn’t mean its effects on cognition, motor skills, lung health, mental health and so on should not be studied extensively.) Now it will finally be easier to conduct research on the drug.
As NBC News reports, the rescheduling of marijuana also means “opening the door for pharmaceutical companies to get involved with the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.” That could mean far more sophisticated medical marijuana products will emerge in the future.
And the reclassification will also help reshape the legal market for marijuana. Currently, marijuana businesses are limited in their ability to make ordinary tax deductions because of the Schedule I classification. The reclassification will remove that restriction, meaning that marijuana businesses will be able to reduce their tax burden and operate more nimbly. That, in turn, could make them more competitive against black market operators. Some 20 years ago, a Democratic president rescheduling marijuana would’ve been received as a radical policy decision. Republicans — and many Democrats — would’ve hammered the president for being soft in the war on drugs and poisoning America’s youth. Today, the rescheduling of marijuana looks overdue and reasonable — and likely consistutes a minor political win. Polling indicates an overwhelming majority of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana for recreational or medical use, and this step is more modest than federal legalization. It marks an incremental acknowledgment that marijuana isn’t the hard-core drug it’s been vilified as, opens up the path for understanding more of its medical benefits, and improves the business climate for a burgeoning industry. Marijuana policy isn’t a top tier issue for the public these days, but Biden’s move is still likely to register with many as sensible, and a reminder of how drug policy is growing more serious in this country, even if at a glacial pace.
Zeeshan Aleem is a writer for MS NOW. Sign up for his newsletter. 
