Bernie Sanders Slams Decision Not To Reclassify Marijuana

The Vermont progressive has introduced legislation that would free states to regulate it as they see fit.
Decriminalizing marijuana is among the aims of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) "political revolution."
Decriminalizing marijuana is among the aims of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) "political revolution."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) threw some shade at the Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday.

The DEA announced it would end the federal government’s monopoly on marijuana cultivation, but to the disappointment of many drug reform proponents, the agency declined to reclassify pot from its list of “most dangerous” narcotics.

Sanders made clear on Twitter that he was among those dissatisfied with the decision not to remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of “Schedule I” drugs, where it sits alongside heroin and LSD. (Schedule I is the most severe category of illegal substances, referring to drugs with the greatest tendency for abuse and no known medical uses.)

While seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders introduced legislation last November that would entirely “de-schedule” marijuana, or remove it from the Controlled Substances Act, effectively decriminalizing the substance at the federal level. It is modeled on a 2013 bill introduced by Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and would allow states to decide how to regulate marijuana.

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