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The Justice Department Has Finally Moved To Reclassify Marijuana To A Lower Class Than Heroin And Ecstasy

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NY Post - The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a historic shift in generations of US drug policy.

A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs.

The plan approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland does not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The Drug Enforcement Administration will take public comment on the proposal to move marijuana away from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD.

It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids 

Schedule 1 drugs in the United States are classified as substances or chemicals with no accepted medical use and high abuse potential. As of right now, there are 6 drugs that fall into that category. Heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone (i.e. Quaaludes which haven't been manufactured in the US since the 1980's), peyote, and to round it all out… marijuana.

On the federal level, marijuana is still considered a "worse" drug than Schedule 2 drugs the likes of cocaine, meth, oxycodone, and the drug that which if you accidently take more than a grain of rice's worth will kill you… fentanyl. 

Obviously that's a little misleading. Marijuana is still Schedule 1 on the Federal level, but in practice it almost seems as if it's fully legal. At least in many states. There's a store on every block in New York City where you can purchase weed over the counter. You can walk up a member of NYPD with a lit joint in your mouth and he'll give you a high five. The whole concept of something being fully legal within a state, yet still illegal federally is very strange to me. As I understand it, the federal government technically has the authority to come in over the top and arrest everybody working at a recreational marijuana dispensary in Colorado. But for whatever reason they just allow it to happen. 

That being the case, the fact that the federal government still hasn't moved marijuana out of Schedule 1 seems a little ridiculous. To have it on any sort of list alongside of heroin and ecstasy, and on a "more dangerous" list than cocaine makes zero sense. But if this proposed rule goes through, marijuana will be relegated to Schedule 3 where it will join the likes of other ho hum drugs such as ketamine and anabolic steroids. Only one of which will get you banned from the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

So good job, government? I guess? It only took you until 2024 when the entire country has completely turned the other cheek to marijuana to the point that it's openly being sold off of folding tables at city parks to knock weed down a peg below meth. All in an election year too! How about that.