Jan. 13 (UPI) — Marijuana is less harmful and less prone to abuse than first thought and should be reclassified to reflect that, the Department of Health and Human Services now says.
The department publicly released more than 250 pages outlining the position on Friday, including a letter written by Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine.
“I am recommending that marijuana, referring to botanical cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) that is within the definition ‘marihuana’ or ‘marijuana’ in the CSA, be controlled in Schedule III of the CSA,” Levine wrote in the letter addressed to Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram and originally dated Aug. 29, 2023.
Levine’s letter is part of a now-public 252-page review that appeals to the DEA to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, rather than its current Schedule 1 classification.
Scientists found that “there exists some credible scientific support for the medical use of marijuana in at least one of the indications for which there is widespread current experience in the United States.”
This comes after president Joe Biden in October 2022 moved to review the classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.
“Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the current DEA definition.
“Schedule III drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Schedule III drugs abuse potential is less than Schedule I and Schedule II drugs.”
The documents were prepared by FDA’s Controlled Substance Staff and reviewed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Schedule I drugs are considered the most dangerous include heroin and lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD.
Ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone are some of the drugs currently classified as Schedule III.
