

Despite their claim to decide by the first half of 2016, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is still in the process of considering whether or not to reschedule marijuana.

The DEA is currently working through an eight-factor analysis to change marijuana’s current Schedule I classification, reports the Cannabist.

“But I can’t give you a time frame as to when we may announce a decision,” said Russ Baer, an agency spokesman, to the Cannabist on Tuesday. “We’re closer than we were a month ago. It’s a very deliberate process.”

Downgrading marijuana to a lesser schedule won’t necessarily help towards legalization, but would open up restrictions to research the plant for medical and scientific purposes.

Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I substance that’s considered to be dangerous with no medical value, despite the fact that over half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes.

DEA officials made their intentions to consider rescheduling marijuana in a letter sent to U.S. lawmakers earlier this year in April.

“DEA understands the widespread interest in the prompt resolution to these petitions and hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016,” the agency wrote in the 25-page letter.