Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has put forth a proposal to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. Reacting to this announcement, Akua Amaning, director for Criminal Justice Reform at the Center for American Progress, expressed her views on the matter.
"The DEA’s proposed rescheduling of marijuana is significant but doesn’t go far enough, as full descheduling is urgently needed. Rescheduling to a Schedule III drug will do little to mitigate the harms of marijuana criminalization. For the past 20 years, the United States has averaged more than 600,000 marijuana arrests each year, with Black individuals being nearly four times more likely than their white counterparts to be arrested—even though both use marijuana at similar rates."
Amaning emphasized the importance of pushing for descheduling legislation, such as the Senate-led Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) and the House-led Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. She highlighted that these bills not only decriminalize marijuana through descheduling but also address automatic expungements and establish reinvestment programs in communities disproportionately affected by marijuana criminalization.
The call for full descheduling comes as a response to the ongoing disparities in marijuana-related arrests and convictions. Amaning stressed the need for comprehensive reform to address the systemic issues surrounding marijuana criminalization in the United States.
For those seeking further information or expert insights on this topic, Jasmine Razeghi can be reached at [email protected].
