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What Reclassifying Marijuana Could Mean For Research And Drug Policy

Published May 9, 2024 at 11:26 AM EDT
In this photo illustration, packaging for a marijuana cigarette sits on top of dried cannabis flowers in San Anselmo, California.
Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
In this photo illustration, packaging for a marijuana cigarette sits on top of dried cannabis flowers in San Anselmo, California.

For the last 50 years, the government has classifiedMarijuana as a schedule one drug.

Last Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland didinitiate the process to reclassify marijuana as a schedule three drug. Those substances are considered by the Drug Enforcement Agency to have moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.

This recommendation does not make marijuana legal at the federal level. But for the first time, the government is acknowledging marijuana's potential medical benefits.

What does this move mean for marijuana research, and drug policy more broadly?

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