Senate leaders applauded the delivery of a marijuana policy proposal from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday as a first step toward reducing federal restrictions on the drug.

On Wednesday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on X, the service that replaced Twitter, that the department had answered President Joe Biden's request "to provide a scheduling recommendation for marijuana to the DEA," according to The Associated Press.

According to a statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, HHS had recommended downgrading marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.

Criminal sanctions for possession would be lessened or even eliminated if the drug were rescheduled. Along with heroin and LSD, marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I substance.

Schedule I substances, in the words of the DEA, "have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse."

They now contain ketamine and some anabolic steroids. Schedule III medications "have a potential for abuse less than substances in Schedules I or II and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence."

As he forgave thousands of Americans found guilty under the federal statute of "simple possession" of marijuana in October 2022, Biden asked for the study.

Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, demanded that marijuana be entirely descheduled in a statement. "However, the recommendation of HHS to reschedule cannabis as a Schedule III drug is not inconsequential," he continued. It will be a momentous milestone for a country whose cannabis rules have been out of touch with reality if HHS's proposal is ultimately put into effect.

Read also: US Authorities Move Marijuana to Lower-Risk Drug Category

The Current Weed Law in the US

Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which means that it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. However, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, and 19 states and Washington, D.C. have legalized marijuana for recreational use. 

The federal government has taken a hands-off approach to marijuana legalization at the state level, but there is still some uncertainty about how federal law will be applied in states where marijuana is legal.

In 2013, the Obama administration issued a memo directing federal prosecutors to focus their enforcement efforts on large-scale commercial operations and on preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors.

However, the Trump administration has taken a more aggressive stance on marijuana enforcement.

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