ABC News: DOJ releases proposed rule to reclassify marijuana
abcnews.go.com
President Joe Biden, in a video posted Thursday on X, touted the proposal as "an important move toward reversing longstanding inequities."
"Look folks, no one should be in jail for merely using or possessing marijuana. Period," he said. "Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana, and I'm committed to righting those wrongs."
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Pretty sure you're going to wind up in jail for possession of it as a Schedule III drug as well though, unless you have a prescription.
I feel like I am missing a piece of the puzzle.
How does this legalize weed? This feel like the same thing as last time with less jail time.
This doesn't legalize weed, but arguably it's a step in the right direction.
It legalizes medical and research use of weed, which are currently federally illegal. Doesn't do much for recreational use though.
The President can’t decriminalize (legalize) a drug. That requires congressional legislation.
My napkin guess is that this is some sort of specific process/tactic, either it only allows
12 levels of reclassification at a time or that was all that could be agreed on (with multiple agencies, likely the DEA limiting the pace). So either avoiding the Senate or the tiniest of steps that pretty much anybody will allow/defend. Slow-and-steady could be the plan, assuming Biden wins again and actually follows up.Well that and it probably really helps with the turning-a-blind-eye, like the difference between ignoring/acquitting a hit-and-run fender-bender versus ignoring/acquitting the act of treating a no-traffic intersection (in clear conditions) like a 4-way stop. Maybe it will be enough to reduce hostility and move the relevant overton window over time while avoiding pushback.
EDIT: Looking at it more, this seems to be the department of HHS pressuring the DEA on clear medical use. As others say, the lower restriction might help further medical study which could in-turn result in further reclassification.
President Joe Biden, in a video posted Thursday on X, touted the proposal as "an important move toward reversing longstanding inequities."
You'll still go to jail, but the president says he personally feels like you don't deserve to.
That’s a bingo.
Feels a bit like they're trying to put the horse back in the barn. If it's only by prescription at the federal level, they may use that as legitimacy to crack down on recreational use and make it harder to get it for medical use.
It's crazy that you actually think that's what this is about.
Brb, going to the dispensary.
As much as I am a skeptic of everything this administration pretends to try to do, but making it legal for medical purposes is what started the legalization process in every legalized state. Biden doesn't make malicious moves, he just does half measures on everything that usually result in nothing but a show.