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The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. The plan approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use. (Whitehurst, 5/16)

President Biden on Thursday publicly endorsed the Justice Department’s recommendation to loosen restrictions on marijuana, a long-expected measure that marks a historic shift in the nation’s drug policy. “Far too many lives have been upended because of failed approach to marijuana, and I’m committed to righting those wrongs,” Biden said in a video posted on X. (Ovalle and Nirappil, 5/16)

State lawmakers have once again blocked a proposal that would have allowed for the therapeutic use of magic mushrooms — the fourth year in a row that bills to expand access to hallucinogenic drugs have died in the state Legislature. The proposal from state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, was pared down considerably from past attempts to fully decriminalize psychedelics, seeking only to legalize their use in therapeutic settings. But even those concessions weren't enough to get Senate Bill 1012 through. (Gardiner, 5/16)