BY TOM ANGELL ON FEBRUARY 24, 2016
The man who once had the power to initiate a federal reclassification of marijuana now says he supports it.
“I certainly think it ought to be rescheduled,” Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general, said in a newly published interview. “You know, we treat marijuana in the same way that we treat heroin now, and that clearly is not appropriate.”
Cannabis is currently classified under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive category, which is supposed to be reserved for drugs with no medical value and a high potential for abuse.
As attorney general, Holder could have directed the federal government to begin reviewing that status but did not do so before leaving office last April. His successor, Loretta Lynch, has said she personally opposes legalizing marijuana but hascalled the Obama administration’s approach to generally letting states enact their own laws without interference “effective.” She hasn’t clearly weighed in on the question of rescheduling.
The man who once had the power to initiate a federal reclassification of marijuana now says he supports it.
“I certainly think it ought to be rescheduled,” Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general, said in a newly published interview. “You know, we treat marijuana in the same way that we treat heroin now, and that clearly is not appropriate.”
Cannabis is currently classified under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive category, which is supposed to be reserved for drugs with no medical value and a high potential for abuse.
As attorney general, Holder could have directed the federal government to begin reviewing that status but did not do so before leaving office last April. His successor, Loretta Lynch, has said she personally opposes legalizing marijuana but hascalled the Obama administration’s approach to generally letting states enact their own laws without interference “effective.” She hasn’t clearly weighed in on the question of rescheduling.
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