In a landmark step that was decades in the making, the Biden administration has begun moving toward delisting marijuana from the most restrictive category of drugs.

On April 30, the Justice Department told media outlets, including PolitiFact, that Attorney General Merrick Garland had "circulated a proposal to reclassify marijuana" from Schedule 1, the most restrictive category of drugs under the Controlled Substances Act, to Schedule 3, which involves fewer restrictions on use and research.

On May 16, Biden posted an X video in which he confirmed that the administration had formally submitted the policy change that day, opening a public comment process that, barring an unexpected development, could lead to formal enactment of the new policy within months.

"This is monumental," Biden said in the video. "It's an important move towards reversing long-standing inequities. … Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana and I'm committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it."

As a candidate in 2020, Biden had promised to "decriminalize the use of cannabis." The change would not accomplish precisely what Biden had promised on the campaign trail, but once the new policy is enacted, it would still represent a watershed moment in marijuana policy history.

The proposed change was posted May 21 in the Federal Register. 

"It is a very significant change," said Jonathan Caulkins, a public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in marijuana-related issues. 

Mason Tvert, a partner at the cannabis consulting company Strategies 64, agreed.

"It is the most significant action any president has ever taken to roll back our nation's federal prohibition on marijuana, and it is arguably the furthest any president could go in doing so," Tvert said.

The federal government's schedule system stems from the Controlled Substances Act, which was enacted in 1970. The schedules run from 1 (for drugs that have the most serious risk of abuse and have no currently accepted medical use) down to 5 (which are the least likely to be misused).

Ever since the law was enacted, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug, alongside such substances as heroin and LSD. In August 2023, Biden's Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration, a Justice Department division, shift cannabis to Schedule 3, putting it on par with some doses of codeine, ketamine, and anabolic steroids. 

"It makes sense for cannabis to go in Schedule 3," Caulkins said, because marinol — the synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana, THC — is already classified as a Schedule 3 drug. 

The proposed rescheduling, Caulkins said, "is a judgment that botanical cannabis — the plant material with its poorly controlled soup of various cannabinoids — also has federally recognized medical value, just as the pure synthetic chemical marinol already does."

Already, 38 states plus the District of Columbia allow marijuana for medical use. Of those, 24 allow it for recreational purposes.

If the change is implemented, cannabis companies could more easily secure access to financial institutions and would be able to take advantage of tax deductions that are currently off limits, potentially allowing them to expand their businesses. The change could also allow wider scientific research and partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.

The pro-marijuana group NORML applauded Biden's move but said it didn't go far enough, arguing that it doesn't align with more aggressive legalization efforts in some states. The group prefers that marijuana be taken out of the Controlled Substances Act entirely.

Nevertheless, Paul Armentano, NORML's deputy director, told PolitiFact the proposed change "represents the first time" the federal government "has ever abandoned its 'Flat Earth' position toward cannabis."

Marijuana policy experts disagreed on how far Biden's proposal, if enacted, would get him toward achieving his promise of decriminalizing cannabis.

Armentano said, "Rescheduling doesn't change federal penalties for marijuana possession and other related activities. Such changes can only be made by repealing federal cannabis criminalization and amending federal statutes, similar to how Congress repealed alcohol prohibition."

However, marijuana policy experts said terminology such as "legalization" and "decriminalization" have historically been used loosely, especially by politicians, suggesting that a move to reschedule, like the one now moving toward enactment, may have been what Biden had meant when he made his pledge.

Tvert, a 20-year professional in cannabis policy, said he interpreted Biden's promise as one to "revisit the federal government's existing marijuana prohibition laws," and that he did so by "directing his departments to reexamine the policy and initiate the process of reevaluating its classification under Schedule 1." The administration, Tvert said, has "followed through on that."

The proposal represents a tangible step forward, but it is not yet officially enacted. For now, we continue to rate this promise In the Works.

President Joe Biden's promise to decriminalize marijuana moved forward in 2023, but awaits the U.S. Justice Department's review.

Federal law currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances, including heroin and LSD.

In August 2023, the federal Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration reschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. 

Schedule 3 would put marijuana on par with some doses of codeine, ketamine, and anabolic steroids. 

In January, Health and Human Services released a 252-page, unredacted copy of its recommendation in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. 

The document publicly acknowledged cannabis as having an accepted medical use and relatively low potential for abuse. The department's recommendation followed Biden's direction in October 2022 to the attorney general and Health and Human Services secretary to "expeditiously" initiate the administrative process to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. 

Biden also said he would pardon anyone with a federal conviction of simple possession of marijuana. Federal officials told reporters at the time that no Americans were currently serving time in prison solely on a federal simple marijuana possession charge.

A Justice Department spokesperson told PolitiFact that it had received Health and Human Services' recommendation and "it's under review." 

There is no mandated timeline for the federal government to act and historically the Drug Enforcement Administration has taken years to do so, Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a group that advocates for descheduling marijuana, told PolitiFact.

Armentano said moving cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 will not fulfill the promise of "decriminalizing" it. 

"It would simply regulate cannabis like ketamine rather than like heroin," he said.

Schedule 3 substances are subject to uniform federal rules (the substances are legally available only by prescription from a licensed pharmacy), so changing marijuana's classification would not eliminate conflicting state and federal laws and policies, he said.

We will revisit this promise when the Justice Department announces a recommendation, but for now it remains In the Works. 

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President Joe Biden announced that he would pardon anyone with a federal conviction of simple possession of marijuana, his first step toward delivering on a campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana.

"No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana," Biden said Oct. 6. "Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit."

Federal officials told reporters that no Americans are currently serving time in prison solely on a federal simple marijuana possession charge, however the number who have been charged is around 6,500 from 1992 to 2021, The New York Times found.

Biden also asked the attorney general and Health and Human Services secretary to "expeditiously" initiate the administrative process to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. 

Federal law currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances including heroin and LSD.

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use as of May, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As of Feb. 3, 2022, 37 states and the District of Columbia allow the medical use of cannabis products.

Under federal law, someone convicted of marijuana possession can face one year in jail for a first offense, and two or three years for subsequent offenses. But state or local law enforcement make the majority of the arrests and state penalties vary.

Biden asked governors to also issue similar pardons for state offenses.

Some governors and local elected officials have taken steps to decriminalize simple possession of marijuana. Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor Randall Woodfin announced in 2021 that the city would pardon 15,000 people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession charges in municipal court between 1990 and 2020. In Pennsylvania, more than 3,500 have applied for pardons in a program launched by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

Biden's announcement comes about one month before the midterm elections as Republicans have sought to portray Democrats as weak on crime. But polls have consistently shown majority support among Americans for legalizing marijuana.

Biden's actions do not fully decriminalize marijuana, but decriminalization advocates said it was a step toward his promise.

We will check back to see whether federal officials take any additional steps to decriminalize marijuana, including the outcome of the scheduling review by federal officials. But for now, we rate this promise In the Works.

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Most Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to Gallup, but that hasn't influenced President Joe Biden to take steps toward his campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level.

"Unfortunately, we have not seen any steps or even the indication of serious consideration for a step in the right direction when it comes to marijuana policy reform and the Biden administration," said Justin Strekal, political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which supports decriminalization.

Drug policy experts pointed to several examples of steps the administration could take.

Maritza Perez, a director at the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that supports changing marijuana laws, said that Biden could order the Justice Department to deprioritize marijuana prosecutions or use his clemency power to release people serving time for federal marijuana offenses. Biden could also throw his weight behind the MORE Act, a bill that would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminate criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes or possesses marijuana. The bill was introduced in May by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and has 101 co-sponsors. 

The MORE Act is one of several legislative proposals to decriminalize marijuana possession that haven't reached a vote. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a bill in November that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, allowing states more latitude to set their own laws. Mace's bill had four co-sponsors as of early January. 

Under the Controlled Substance Act, the federal government considers marijuana a Schedule 1 substance, the most serious level, "meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision," according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Under federal law a person convicted of marijuana possession can face one year in jail for their first offense, and two or three years for subsequent offenses. But the majority of arrests are made by state or local law enforcement, and state penalties vary.

Many states over the past decade have legalized marijuana for recreational or medical use. Eighteen states, two territories and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. As of May, 36 states and four territories allow for the medical use of cannabis products.

Andrew Sidman, chair of the political science department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said criminal justice reform has taken a back seat as the Biden administration focuses on other priorities including COVID-19, inflation and his Build Back Better social safety-net legislation. 

"Criminal justice reform is not a place where the president is going to try to spend political capital," Sidman said. 

Biden could take some actions without legislation, such as making drug enforcement a reduced priority, but he has chosen not to take steps on his own, Sidman said. Meanwhile, given the partisan split in the Senate, legislation to decriminalize marijuana is unlikely to move forward. 

Biden still has time, but so far he hasn't taken any steps to fulfill his promise. We rate this promise Stalled. 

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