FRANKFORT, Ky. (WMDJ) – Gov. Andy Beshear has sent a letter to the administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, expressing his support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation that the DEA ease restrictions on marijuana.

The move would reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, giving patients an alternative to deadly opioids and reduce crime and illicit drug use.

As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is currently in the same classification as heroin and LSD as having “no current accepted medical use.”

The letter also outlines that nationally, opioid use killed 80,000 Americans in 2022. In the same year, marijuana use alone killed zero Americans.