Friend,

There are only 5 days left to tell the Biden administration to federally decriminalize marijuana. We must deschedule marijuana, not reschedule it, to end federal criminalization and its harms. 

Submit your public comment telling the White House that rescheduling is not enough now — and then share this link with your friends who care about marijuana reform! 

Thanks to people like you, we’ve made enormous strides toward decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana the right way. Today, nearly half of all states have legalized marijuana. But without federal marijuana decriminalization, this state-level progress will continue to be threatened because it remains illegal at the national level. 

Decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana the right way means: 

• Reinvesting marijuana tax revenue back into the communities that have borne the brunt of criminalization; 
• Expunging marijuana records so individuals don't carry lifelong consequences from a previous marijuana conviction; 
• Protecting noncitizens and workers in the marijuana industry; and  
• Ensuring small businesses and entrepreneurs of color can participate and be successful in legal markets. 

To achieve marijuana laws grounded in health, social equity, and reinvestment nationwide, we must begin by federally decriminalizing marijuana.  

The Biden administration’s current proposal would reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. And while this would acknowledge that marijuana has medical value and a low risk for abuse, it is not enough. Rescheduling would mainly provide tax benefits for marijuana businesses. But rescheduling marijuana would maintain criminalization and its harms.  

We know that rescheduling marijuana: 

• Would not stop marijuana arrests; 
• Would not release people currently imprisoned for marijuana; 
• Would not erase arrest records; and 
• Would not restore access to federal benefits like SNAP food stamps that people have lost because of a marijuana conviction. 

We must deschedule marijuana to end federal criminalization and create a strong foundation for the future marijuana reforms that our communities need to thrive. And demonstrating broad support for marijuana reform through the public comment process will create the momentum our movement needs. In addition to decriminalizing marijuana, we are also pressuring President Biden to issue broader pardons for people with marijuana convictions, restore benefits to people who lost them for marijuana, and urge Congress to pass comprehensive marijuana reform legislation. 

Tell the White House that rescheduling is not enough. Our communities demand federal marijuana decriminalization.

In the final days of the public comment period, it is critical that we raise our voices. We must use this opportunity to demonstrate to the federal government that marijuana laws should reflect the will of the American people. And the people want common-sense marijuana laws that benefit their communities. 

In the U.S., someone is arrested every 90 seconds for a marijuana violation. It takes less than that amount of time to submit a public comment and have your voice heard. 

Learn more about the fight to federally decriminalize marijuana and why rescheduling is not enough.