He US President Joe Bidenconfirmed this Thursday its support for marijuana to be reclassified as a low-risk drug and announced the official beginning of the procedures for the process to be completed.
Through a video published on social networks, the American president stated that “No one should be in jail simply for using or possessing marijuana. and that there have been too many lives that have been turned upside down by a failed approach to marijuana.”
Joe Biden’s decision to classify marijuana as a low-risk drug
“I am committed to correcting those mistakes“said the 81-year-old president, who will run for re-election in the presidential elections next November and will presumably face former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021). With this measure, Biden targets the young population at a time when the Democrat’s campaign is worried about losing much of its support due to the unconditional aid that the United States gave to Israel in the Gaza war.
A senior administration official detailed to the press this Thursday that The formal step for reclassification has already been takenthe submission of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) in which It is proposed that marijuana be moved from Annex I to III.
The classification that marijuana has now in the United States
At the momentmarijuana is classified at the same level as drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, while this change seeks to ensure that it is considered at the same level of risk as prescription drugs such as anabolic steroids. The government source recalled that this step comes after, in 2022, Biden asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and to the Health Department to review how marijuana is classifieda process in which they were “guided by science and evidence.”
After the presentation of the NPRM, This will be published in the Federal Register and a 60-day public comment period will then begin.
After that, the administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Anne Milgram, may assign an Administrative Law judge to make a final recommendation and, based on this, the DOJ must make a decision.
The measures taken by Joe Biden during his government in the United States
Since his arrival to the Government in January 2021, the official source recalls, Biden opted to approve measures to prevent citizens from going to prison for marijuana possession, including a pardon for federal possession crimes. Currently, heMarijuana for recreational use and limited to those over 21 years of age is legal in 24 states. While Medical marijuana is legal in 13 statesin addition to those where its use for pleasure is permitted.
Last On May 1, a group of Democratic senators once again presented a bill that seeks to decriminalize marijuana use at the federal level.
The initiative has little chance of succeeding because Senate Republicans oppose decriminalization and, although they have a majority in that chamber, Democrats would need their support to pass the law.
Source: Ambito
