US health department recommends looser restrictions on cannabis

The US Department of Health and Human Services has called on the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to loosen federal rules on cannabis.

The drug is illegal at the federal level despite 40 of 50 US states having passed laws legalising its use in some form.

Cannabis is currently listed in the same class of drugs as heroin and LSD.

If the DEA changes its classification, it could mark the most significant shift in US drug policy in decades.

Cannabis is currently classified as a schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has no medical use and a high chance of abuse.

The change to schedule 3 would align it with drugs listed as having a low potential for dependency and abuse. Ketamine, anabolic steroids and drugs containing up to 90 milligrams of codeine per dose fall under that classification.