President Biden announces moves to relax weed restrictions

President Joe Biden is officially moving forward with plans to loosen federal marijuana restrictions.

Biden announced on Thursday his administration plans to reclassify cannabis from the most restrictive category on the federal list of illegal drugs to a moderately restrictive category.

"This is monumental," Biden said in a video posted to X about the reclassification — which was first reported prior to the announcement by POLITICO. "Today, my administration took a major step to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug to a Schedule 3 drug."

It is the next step in the rescheduling process begun by Biden in October 2022, and follows a recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services in August to reclassify marijuana.

The move would not make marijuana federally legal, but would lessen the tax burden on state-legal cannabis companies and make marijuana easier to research.

Marijuana currently is a Schedule I drug on the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I is the most severe classification, meaning the drug is considered to have no medical use and high potential for abuse. The DOJ decision to reclassify would move cannabis to Schedule III — a category that means it’s determined to have both medical benefits and some potential for abuse.

The move would mark the biggest change in federal drug policy in more than half a century and shows how much Biden's position has shifted on cannabis. As a senator, he wrote the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which raised federal penalties for possession and distribution of Schedule I substances like marijuana. In 2020, he remained the only Democratic candidate in the crowded presidential primary to not come out in favor of full federal decriminalization.

It was during the 2020 campaignthat Biden came out in favor of some significant changes, however, saying nobody should be in prison for marijuana possession — while also suggesting it posed a risk as a "gateway drug."

As Biden runs for reelection, he has struggled to consolidate support among young voters. A recent poll showed that he was leading former President Donald Trump by only 8 points among voters ages 18- to 29-years old, a much lower margin than at this point in the election cycle four years ago.

Biden's marijuana moves have the potential to bolster support among that crucial demographic.

A recent national poll showed that 65 percent of 18- to 25-year-old likely voters expressed support for the administration’s recommendation to move marijuana to a less stringent classification under federal law, compared with just 14 percent who indicated opposition.

On Thursday, Biden reiterated past statements that no one should be in jail for using or possessing marijuana.

"Far too many lives have been upended because of [our] failed approach to marijuana," he said. "And I'm committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it."

In announcing the move, DOJ published formal guidance laying out the reclassification, as well as a report from the agency's Office of Legal Counsel detailing the rationale for the move.

Once the notice for rulemaking is posted in the federal registry, a 60 day comment period commences — the next step in the rescheduling process.