One of the many things the Obama administration will be remembered for: creating the Consumers Financial Protection Bureau, which of course the Repugs hate and want to eliminate.

Feds to reschedule marijuana this year

The California initiative

In a clear case of scientific/political/cultural lag, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug:

Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.

The FDA has informed the Washington Post (page 5) that it will make a long overdue reclassification decision on marijuana early this year.

Anyone who's actually used the drugs listed above knows that the only thing, say, heroin and LSD have in common is that they are both called "drugs." For the most part, if you take too much LSD, you are just going to have a bad trip, an experience you won't want to repeat. If you take too much heroin, you can die.

Seems like this kind of classification stupidity---for marijuana, at least---will soon end.

Thanks to Alternet.