USA is preparing to reclassify the dope as drug less dangerous, a decision with potentially far-reaching implications, a source close to US authorities informed AFP on Tuesday.
According to the source, who requested anonymity, the Department of Justice will recommend on Tuesday to the White House Budget Office that cannabis be moved from Category 1 (substances considered highly addictive and without medical value such as heroin) to Category 3, which includes certain codeine-based medications.
It is a stage in the reclassification process, which will take some time.
The White House and the Department of Justice declined to comment on this information, initially revealed by the US agency Associated Press.
The new classification could have economic repercussions, spurring medical research on marijuana and easing regulatory and fiscal restrictions.
A total of 24 US states, plus the District of Columbia, where the capital, Washington, is located, have already legalized cannabis, and another 14 allow exclusively medical use, according to the Pew Research institute.
This institute calculated last February that the 74% of Americans live in a state where the substance is legalized for recreational or medical use.
President Joe Biden has taken a series of measures at the federal level to pardon the sentences of people convicted of simple possession of cannabis, thus lifting the obstacles they could face in accessing employment or housing.
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Source: Gestion
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