MICHIGAN, USA — On Thursday the Justice Department formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy.
This move comes after a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. Some say this may change how we view marijuana.
"This reclassification changes how we think about the substance, but it does not change the physiology of the substance. So this is going to move it from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III controlled substance. The difference between those is one, the potential for misuse and two, it also means that now there's clinical utility to marijuana," said Jamie Alan, a human medicine professor at Michigan State University.
Although in Michigan it is legal to use marijuana recreationally—this new reclassification may influence states where marijuana is illegal to use, to legalize it. Alan said this new reclassification may impact the way people purchase marijuana.
"I anticipate that you will be able to use a debit card or a credit card. The reason that they cannot accept debit cards or credit cards now is that it is federally a Schedule I substance. So federally, it is illegal to have those transactions on the credit cards. I do expect this to change now that it will be federally legal," said Alan.
Alan said she hopes this new reclassification makes people think more about marijuana's impact on the social justice system.
"My hope is that it changes some of our social justice dialogue, because we can see that Black people and white people use cannabis at similar rates, but they are incarcerated at vastly different rates. Black people are incarcerated at a much higher level than their white counterparts for nonviolent crimes. I'm hoping that this serves as an impetus for social justice conversation around this topic," said Alan.
The Drug Enforcement Administration will next take public comment on the proposal before deciding to approve marijuana's reclassification.
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