Federal health dept. says marijuana should be downgraded to Schedule 3 drug

Enlarge / Marijuana plants in a greenhouse in Santa Cruz, California. (credit: Ian Philip Miller / Getty Images)

As dozens of states have legalized recreational and medicinal use of marijuana in recent years, the federal government has maintained its classification as a Schedule 1 controlled substance—keeping marijuana in a group defined as having "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," which includes heroin and LSD.

The incongruity has muddled marijuana regulation and enforcement, stifled cannabis businesses, and hampered medical research. But the situation could soon ease.

The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that it should downgrade marijuana from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 controlled substance, which is defined as having "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence." The move would put marijuana in the ranks of ketamine, testosterone, and products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine.