The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the law's most restrictive category, to Schedule III, which includes prescription drugs such as anabolic steroids and Tylenol with codeine. Thirty-five years ago today, Francis Young, the DEA's chief administrative law judge, likewise concluded that marijuana did not belong in Schedule I, which also includes illegal drugs such as heroin, LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA.
Although Young's conclusions ultimately were rejected by DEA Administrator John Lawn, his decision was a milestone in marijuana reform that highlighted the irrationality of the drug's legal classification. It is worth another look now that the DEA, in response to the HHS recommendation, may finally acknowledge, after half a century of steadfast resistance, that marijuana does not meet the statutory criteria for Schedule I.
