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Marijuana remains in an odd legal limbo in the United States, and there’s one organization at the center of it: The Drug Enforcement Administration.
The DEA has for decades held that marijuana is among the most dangerous, highly addictive drugs and has no medical value, despite growing state laws, medical evidence and popular opinion to the contrary. The result: Pot is widely available in some states, heavily criminalized in others — and technically federally illegal everywhere.
The confusion could be cleared up by Congress or the courts intervening, said Carmel Shachar, Harvard School of Law professor and the faculty director Health Law and Policy Clinic. But in the absence of bold congressional action on marijuana, experts and advocates are looking to the DEA to make the next move to change the nation’s position on pot.
President Joe Biden has said he’s one of the people who disagrees with the DEA’s categorization of marijuana, and called for a review in 2022, kicking off a bureaucratic slog that could soon change the status quo. Here’s what to know:
The DEA classifies drugs and says pot is the worst kind
The DEA says marijuana is classified as a “Schedule I” drug under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
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