FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., joined an effort to urge the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to ease restrictions on marijuana.

In a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, Beshear threw his support behind a recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The governor wrote the move would help patients have an alternative treatment for pain relief, and help reduce crime and illicit drug use. Rescheduling, he said, would place cannabis businesses on “the same economic footing as any other businesses,” and allow for “real opportunities” for research on marijuana.

“As governor, my job is to move our state forward,” Beshear said. “Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is a significant, common-sense step forward for all Kentuckians, especially those with significant medical conditions.”

As a Schedule I drug, Beshear noted, marijuana is in the same classification as heroin and LSD, meaning it has “no current accepted medical use.” That also means marijuana is more dangerous than Schedule II drugs, such as fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, methamphetamine and Vicodin, he added.

“The jury is no longer out on marijuana: It has medical uses and is currently being used for medical purposes,” Beshear said in the letter. “The recognition is overwhelming — and bipartisan. For example, I signed a medical marijuana law that passed with support from Republican legislative supermajorities and a Democratic governor.”

Beshear noted the devastating death toll from opioid overdose deaths in the U.S., with over 80,000 deaths in 2022. From 2012 to 2016, he said, over 5,800 Kentuckians died from opioid abuse. “I will continue to put the health and safety of Kentuckians first. That means supporting sensible drug policies like rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III,” he concluded.

The letter is the latest action by Beshear to support medical marijuana. The governor signed Senate Bill 47, which passed through the Republican-led General Assembly and legalized medical cannabis in Kentucky. That followed an executive order signed by Beshear in 2022 that allowed Kentuckians with certain medical conditions to possess and use up to 8 ounces of medical marijuana.