Last Thursday, President Biden dropped an October surprise on the nation – announcing that he would pardon all simple marijuana convictions at the federal level.
It’s a decision that echoes policy at the state level. Thirty-one states and D.C. no longer prosecute or criminalize a person for possessing small amounts of cannabis.
Experts say the bigger move was his request for the government to review marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 drug – a category reserved for dangerous narcotics like heroin.
Biden has requested the review be “expedited.” But how fast could it happen? And if marijuana is rescheduled, what would that mean?
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