Marijuana reclassification

Should marijuana be reclassified as a less dangerous drug? Viewpoints from multiple sides.

May 10, 2024

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Summary view

The DEA revealed last week it was moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. If made official, the move would downgrade marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III classification. A downgrade may open the door to a greater number of approved medical uses and broader federal legislation such as decriminalization or legalization.

Opponents of marijuana reclassification tend to cite the likelihood that looser restrictions will drive more widespread use and potential health risks. Proponents tend to cite its lower threat profile compared to other drugs and the importance of reducing federal penalties. Summary viewpoints from across the spectrum:

More opposed to reclassifying marijuana:

Marijuana poses health risks that would increase with more widespread use.
Reclassifying marijuana favors big business interests over public welfare.
Marijuana reclassification is a political maneuver by the Biden administration at the expense of public health.
Reclassifying marijuana will drive increased drug use and associated harm.
Reclassifying marijuana is in-line with a broader trend toward giving in to public vices without regard for the consequences.

More supportive of reclassifying marijuana:

Marijuana is safer than other Schedule I drugs and does not belong in the same category.
Reclassifying marijuana will help open the doors to better research and more impactful legislation.
Marijuana has been shown to have a variety of medical benefits.
A significant proportion of Americans support legalizing marijuana in some form.
Reclassification could help legal marijuana businesses and shrink the black market.
Reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III doesn’t go far enough.

See the full viewpoints below and let us know what you think!

What’s happening

Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed it was moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug when Attorney General Merrick Garland submitted a proposal to downgrade it from Schedule I to Schedule III. The proposal will go through a months-long review process but signals an intention by the Biden administration to loosen marijuana restrictions.

Context: Reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III would not legalize or decriminalize it at the federal level. People that traffic the drug without permission could still be prosecuted (although federal enforcement has taken a more hands-off approach in recent years). Nonetheless, the potential move is seen by observers as a historic shift in federal marijuana policy.

Schedule I drugs are defined under the Controlled Substances Act to “have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” and include heroin, LSD, and MDMA. Schedule III drugs include testosterone, anabolic steroids, and ketamine. They are viewed by the DEA as having less abuse potential with some medical application. Downgrading marijuana could open more pathways for approved medical use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Recent history: Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted a recommendation to the DEA to reclassify marijuana as Schedule III. Its lengthy report found marijuana was less vulnerable to abuse than many drugs and had science-backed therapeutic benefits. In 2022, President Biden pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana.

Marijuana is currently legal for medical use in 38 states and for recreational use in 24 states. There has been a growing movement to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level with limited success, including a 2022 bill passed by the House of Representatives that failed to pass the Senate.

Below are notable viewpoints from across the spectrum on a potential reclassification.

Notable viewpoints

More opposed to reclassifying marijuana:

Marijuana poses health risks that would increase with more widespread use.

Studies over the past few years have found a variety of mental health complications from marijuana use in teens and adults, and reclassifying the drug would put more people at risk.
One 2021 study found teens that had used cannabis had faster thinning of the prefrontal cortex – a brain region associated with memory and learning – than teens that did not use cannabis, suggesting its use may alter brain development.
A 2023 study among adolescents found those that had used cannabis were roughly 2x as likely than non-users to experience depression or suicidal thoughts; those that had cannabis use disorder (frequent or dependent use) were 2.5x as likely to have depression and 3x as likely to have suicidal thoughts.
A 2023 study of medical records from 7M people in Denmark found a linkage between cannabis use disorder and the development of schizophrenia, particularly among males aged 16-25.
The higher potency of today’s marijuana products – which are commonly 20%+ THC compared to roughly 4% THC in 1995 – increases the risk of adverse psychological consequences; a 2019 study found that daily users of high-potency cannabis (THC concentration > 10%) had 4.8x the risk of developing psychosis than non-users.

Reclassifying marijuana favors big business interests over public welfare.

Downgrading marijuana to Schedule III prioritizes state-regulated marijuana business interests at the expense of public health; marijuana businesses will enjoy an estimated $2B in tax savings from marijuana’s reclassification to Schedule III due to relief from a tax code that prohibits companies trafficking Schedule I drugs from writing off business expenses.
The legal marijuana industry markets to teens with edibles that look like candy and have appealing flavors; deepening the industry’s pockets through tax breaks might compel them to increase their advertising expense.

Marijuana reclassification is a political maneuver by the Biden administration at the expense of public health.

The Biden administration’s move to downgrade marijuana to Schedule III is more of a political play to appeal to voters in an election year than a move to improve public welfare.
In order to reach a seemingly predetermined conclusion to reclassify marijuana, Biden’s FDA skirted the established 5-factor test for determining whether Schedule I drugs have a “currently accepted medical use” by creating an easier 2-factor test for marijuana that had never been used before; marijuana would have likely failed the 5-factor test.

Reclassifying marijuana will drive increased drug use and associated harm.

“A rule of thumb in the public health field is that as the availability and use of any substance goes up, a corresponding increase in misuse will follow. In the case of marijuana, this means we will see an increase in marijuana-involved traffic fatalities, emergency department visits, calls to poison control centers, and cannabis use disorder, among other harms.” (Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.)
Reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III will likely give more Americans a dangerous impression that marijuana is harmless when the science says otherwise.
Marijuana is a gateway drug that may lead to the use of other drugs.

Reclassifying marijuana is in-line with a broader trend toward giving in to public vices without regard for the consequences.

Taking steps toward legalizing marijuana is in-line with a general abandonment of promoting an “aspirational society” and moves to placate the desires of voters and businesses such as legal sports betting and universal basic income.

More supportive of reclassifying marijuana:

Marijuana is safer than other Schedule I drugs and does not belong in the same category.

Keeping marijuana classified as Schedule I would be ludicrous and inaccurately reflects the realities of the drug, which is much safer and medically applicable than other Schedule I drugs such as heroin.
As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is currently in a more dangerous category than cocaine or fentanyl (Schedule II drugs) even though it is consistently found to be less dangerous than those drugs and even alcohol, which is not scheduled at all. (Summarized from a letter from 12 US Senators urging the Biden administration to deschedule marijuana.)

Reclassifying marijuana will help open the doors to better research and more impactful legislation.

With legalization in many states driving increased use, marijuana reclassification at the federal level will help open the doors to much-needed research on its risks and benefits; Schedule I drugs have high regulatory bars that limit research.
The rescheduling of marijuana could open the doors to more pharmaceutical companies getting involved in selling it, which could drive more sophisticated medical marijuana products.
Reclassifying marijuana could positively impact efforts to reform rules around other Schedule I substances with purported medical benefits such as psilocybin and MDMA.
Reclassifying marijuana is a welcome move that should help pave the way for more meaningful legislation such as federal decriminalization and legalization.

Marijuana has been shown to have a variety of medical benefits.

Cannabis has been shown through studies to have therapeutic benefits for a variety of ailments including chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Scientific understanding of marijuana’s potential therapeutic benefits has evolved in recent years and includes its use as a substitute for opiods to treat pain and the use of its chemical components to create novel medications.

A significant proportion of Americans support legalizing marijuana in some form.

Americans overwhelmingly favor the legalization of marijuana in some form; a 2024 Pew Research Center study found roughly 88% of US adults say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use (57% support complete legalization while 32% support medical legalization only).
A significant portion of Americans use or have used marijuana; a 2024 Gallup report found that 50% of adults have tried marijuana while 17% currently use it.

Reclassification could help legal marijuana businesses and shrink the black market.

Reclassification will alleviate the tax burden for state-regulated legal marijuana businesses which could make them more competitive with black market sellers and ultimately shrink the black market.

Reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III doesn’t go far enough.

Reclassification is not enough and marijuana should be decriminalized; the greatest risks of marijuana use for too long have been arrest, imprisonment, and damage to individuals’ economic mobility; law enforcement should not waste resources arresting and prosecuting people for using it.
Reclassification would not have the needed impact of removing federal penalties for marijuana possession such as quantity-based mandatory-minimum sentences.
Congress should pass the SAFER Banking Act, which would make it easier for state-regulated cannabis companies to access banking services to support their legal businesses.

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