A petition was created yesterday by the Marijuana Policy Project that has already received over 23k signatures. It calls on the federal government to remove marijuana from the DEA’s schedule of drugs. The petition was created after President Obama’s recent interview in which he admitted marijuana is not more harmful than alcohol. Below is the language of the petition. I encourage everyone to sign it. As always, I’ll be the first to say that petitions don’t normally equate to action, but it’s still symbolic, and if it gets enough signatures it will raise a lot of awareness, which is well worth it.

In a profile published by The New Yorker magazine, President Barack Obama acknowledged the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol for the consumer. Yet federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, a category the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers “the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules.” It’s time for that to change.

The Controlled Substances Act gives the executive branch, led by President Obama, the legal authority to remove marijuana from the DEA’s schedule of drugs. That authority should be exercised immediately. The president clearly recognizes that marijuana is safer than alcohol — which is not a scheduled drug — so he should do everything he can to ensure our federal laws reflect that fact.

Please sign our petition calling on President Obama to remove marijuana from the DEA’s schedule of drugs. Marijuana is objectively less harmful than alcohol, and it is time for our government to start treating it that way.

To:

President Barack Obama

In a profile recently published by The New Yorker magazine, you acknowledged the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer. Yet federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, a category the Drug Enforcement Administration considers “the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules.” Please exercise the executive branch’s authority to remove marijuana from the DEA’s schedule of drugs. You clearly recognize the fact that marijuana is safer than alcohol — which is not a scheduled drug — so I hope you will do everything you can to ensure our federal laws reflect that fact.

Sincerely,

[Your name]