DOJ Makes Big Change on Drug Policy

The DOJ is set to reschedule marijuana from its Schedule Level. This would mean that the DEA will no longer prioritize it as much, and it will not be considered as high an offense.

Marijuana has already been decriminalized and legalized to various degrees with states across the nation. As most marijuana arrests are conducted by police officers and not federal agents, this means that arrest levels are now lower. The Washington Post says:

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana, a historic shift in federal drug policy that could broaden access to the drug for medicinal use and boost cannabis industries in states where it is legal.

The measure, if enacted, would not legalize marijuana at the federal level but still represents a milestone that could prove to be a political win for President Biden, who is campaigning for reelection and has sought to ameliorate racial and criminal justice inequities wrought by the nation’s long war on drugs.

When consumed in people’s own dwellings and not involving violence, there is little reason for law enforcement to get involved. However, hard drugs including opium continue to be a problem on the health of Americans. Marijuana is often called a “gateway drug”, where some users will graduate to more potent substances that could prove deadly. CNN continues:

For more than 50 years, marijuana has been categorized as a Schedule I substance — drugs like heroin, bath salts and ecstasy that are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse — and subject to the strictest of restrictions.

The expected recommendation comes after the US Health and Human Services department, following a thorough US Food and Drug Administration review at the direction of President Joe Biden, who in 2022 sent a letter to the Justice Department supporting the reclassification to Schedule III.

On the surface, this is a positive development to best allocate law enforcement resources. However, this will lead to more consumption of marijuana and all its societal consequences that are well known.

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