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1 1 (October 7, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejeb0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ a Research Service The Schedule I Status of Marijuana Updated October 7, 2022 The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) places various substances in one of five schedules based on their medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or risk for dependence. The five schedules are progressively ordered with Schedule V substances regarded as the least dangerous and addictive and Schedule I substances considered the most dangerous and addictive. Schedule I substances are considered to have a high potential for abuse with no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. The CSA prohibits the manufacture, distribution, dispensation, and possession of Schedule I substances except for federal government-approved research studies. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA, and has been on Schedule I since the CSA was enacted in 1970 (P.L. 91-513). For background on how marijuana came to be placed on Schedule I, see CRS Report R44782, The Evolution ofMarijuana as a Controlled Substance and the Federal-State Policy Gap. The Schedule I status of marijuana means that the substance is strictly regulated by federal authorities. Yet, over the last several decades, most states and territories have deviated from across-the-board prohibition of marijuana, and now have laws and policies allowing for some cultivation, sale, distribution, and possession of marijuana. On October 6, President Biden announced reform to federal marijuana policy. First, he stated he would pardon ... all prior Federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana. Second, he urged all governors to do the same with regard to state offenses. Finally, he requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. He also noted that important limitations on trafficking, marketing, and under-age sales should stay in place. Simple Possession of Marijuana As a Schedule I controlled substance, the simple possession of marijuana is a violation of the CSA; however, most convicted federal drug offenders are sentenced for violations of CSA drug trafficking laws rather than simple possession. In FY2021, 149 federal offenders were sentenced for marijuana possession, while 1,005 federal offenders were sentenced for marijuana trafficking, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. In response to President Biden's announcement, DOJ stated it would expeditiously administer the President's proclamation, which pardons individuals who engaged in simple possession of marijuana, restoring political, civil, and other rights to those convicted of that offense. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11204 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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