Bernie Sanders says he'd take marijuana off the federal drug list

Sen. Bernie Sanders.
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared that he is in favor of removing marijuana from the list of illegal drugs deemed most dangerous by the federal government.

"Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use," Sanders said during a town hall at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "That's wrong. That has got to change." Marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and not accepted for medical treatment. If marijuana is taken off the list, it wouldn't make pot legal across the country, but states would be able to regulate it the same way state and local laws govern alcohol and tobacco sales, The Washington Post reports. In states where marijuana is legal, users would also no longer run the risk of federal prosecution.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.