Former Attorney General Eric Holder said this week that it’s time to reclassify marijuana to reflect that it’s a less dangerous drug than many others.
“I certainly think it ought to be rescheduled. You know, we treat marijuana in the same way that we treat heroin now, and that clearly is not appropriate,” he said in a Frontline interview. “So at a minimum, I think Congress needs to do that. Then I think we need to look at what happens in Colorado and what happens in Washington.”
Congress could pass new legislation to decriminalize marijuana, a move Holder has recommended. The federal government, specifically the attorney general, is also allowed to move drugs from one schedule to another after consulting with the Department of Health and Human Services.
Holder did not say that it’s time to decriminalize other drugs, and said it depends on the drug.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a situation in which those drugs [meth, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin] ought to be legalized,” he said when asked about the United States following the lead of some European countries. “I don’t see that happening here, and it’s not something that I think would be appropriate. If you look at the impact, the effect that the addictive qualities of those drugs [have], that’s problematic.”
The Frontline interview was conducted last September, but did not air until Tuesday.
Currently, marijuana (cannabis) is a schedule I drug. According to the DEA, “[s]chedule I drugs are considered the most dangerous class of drugs with a high potential for abuse and potentially severe psychological and/or physical dependence.” Other schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone and peyote.
