Marijuana Rescheduling Is Happening Sooner Rather Than Later

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration approved an earlier opinion of the Department of Health and Human Services that would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug. While this is a necessary and important step towards rescheduling, there are still more steps to take before marijuana can be rescheduled.

The process for rescheduling marijuana started with a recommendation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services ("HHS") to the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"). Such a recommendation must be based on scientific evidence of a drug's pharmacological effect, the state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug, the risk to public health, the drug's psychic or physiological dependence liability, and whether the drug is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled by the Controlled Substances Act. The recommendation must also consider the scientific or medical considerations of actual or relative potential for