Removing cannabis from its Schedule I classification and acknowledging are legitimate therapeutic utility is appropriate and long overdue.

The Department of Health and Human Services acknowledged in 2023 that cannabis should be federally reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III. That’s because cannabis does not possess the same risks to health as do other Schedule I substances like heroin, or even unscheduled drugs like cigarettes and alcohol.

And more than 9 in 10 U.S. healthcare professionals support its legal medical use, according to survey data provided in May by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. According to polling analyzed by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-quarter of clinicians surveyed had recommended cannabis to their patients.

Other nations around the world acknowledge cannabis as a legitimate medicine and regulate it accordingly. A review by the National Academy of Sciences determined that there is conclusive evidence that cannabis is effective in treating chronic pain and other serious health conditions.

The United States should acknowledge this reality. To argue otherwise is out of step with both public opinion and scientific consensus.

A version of this commentary originally appeared in The Washington Post in response to the op-ed “This marijuana disaster could rival Big Tobacco.”

Additional information on rescheduling and its implications for state and federal marijuana policies is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Cannabis Rescheduling: Myths Versus Reality.’