OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Reclassifying Marijuana

Floor Speech

Date: May 1, 2024
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the news that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will soon reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

Reclassifying marijuana from a schedule I drug to a schedule III drug while not legalizing marijuana is an important step in normalizing cannabis use in the United States and recognizing that marijuana is not cocaine, and it is not heroin.

The order will broaden access to the drug for medicinal purposes and move us further away from a time of prosecution and incarceration for simple possession, something that has had damaging effects to Black and Brown communities across this country.

I commend President Biden for his important work on this issue. From pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana to reviewing all Federal marijuana laws, the Biden administration is taking the necessary steps to improve marijuana policy in the United States.

Promises made, promised delivered. I thank President Biden.

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