Senate Democrats Urge DEA to Ease Federal Restrictions on Marijuana

Senate Democrats are urging the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on marijuana, NBC News reports.

In August, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) move marijuana from Schedule I, the highest classification of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), to Schedule III. That prompted a review that is ongoing. Schedule I substances are considered to have high potential for misuse and no accepted medical use.

This week, 12 Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, wrote a letter to the DEA urging the agency to go further. “The case for removing marijuana from Schedule I is overwhelming. The DEA should do so by removing cannabis from the CSA altogether, rather than simply placing it in a lower schedule,” the senators wrote.

Forty states and Washington, D.C. have legalized some form of marijuana, either for recreational or medical use. Rescheduling marijuana or removing it entirely would have a major impact on the marijuana industry and the people who use it, the article notes.