(Washington) The US Department of Justice on Thursday officially presented its proposal to reclassify cannabis into a less dangerous drug category than currently.
The American authorities announced on April 30 that the Department of Justice had recommended to the White House Budget Office to lower cannabis from category 1, that of substances considered very addictive and of no medical benefit, such as heroin, to category 3, including for example certain codeine drugs.
With nearly three-quarters of Americans living in a state where the drug is legal, this new federal classification could have significant economic repercussions.
The Department of Justice announced in a press release Thursday the transmission to Official newspaper of this proposal which “launches the process during which the DEA (the federal anti-drug agency, Editor’s note) will collect and take into account information and opinions from citizens, in order to decide on the appropriate timetable”.
Cannabis remains classified in category 1 until the publication of definitive regulations.
“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana, period,” President Joe Biden said in a video released Thursday.
In October 2022, he announced a series of measures to expunge the federal convictions of people sanctioned for simple possession of cannabis, thus removing obstacles they may encounter in terms of access to employment or housing.
He also called on health and judicial authorities to rethink the penalties associated with marijuana.
In 2020 and 2022, the House of Representatives then dominated by Democrats adopted a bill to remove cannabis from the federal list of dangerous drugs, but faced opposition from the Republican-majority Senate.