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.