As the US moves to reclassify marijuana as less dangerous, could more states legalize it?

As the U.S. government moves toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, there may be little immediate impact on the dozen or so states that have not yet legalized cannabis for widespread medical or recreational use by adults.

But advocates of marijuana legalization hope that a federal regulatory change could eventually change the minds — and the votes — of some state lawmakers who have been reluctant to embrace the herb.

SEE MORE INFORMATION: What rescheduling marijuana means for Americans

“It’s very common for a state legislator to say to me, ‘Well, maybe I can support this, but … I’m not going to vote for something that’s illegal under federal law,'” said Matthew Schweich, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project , which advocates the legalization of cannabis.

While a proposal to reschedule marijuana won’t make it legal, “it’s a historic and significant change at the federal level that I believe will give many state legislators a little less hesitation in supporting a bill,” Schweich added.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has proposed changing marijuana from a “schedule I” drug, which includes heroin and LSD, to a less regulated “schedule III” drug, which includes ketamine and some anabolic steroids. Federal rules allow some medical uses of Schedule III drugs. But the proposed change faces a long regulatory process, which may not be completed before the presidential elections.

Meanwhile, the proposed federal change could add new arguments for supporters of ballot measures seeking to legalize marijuana. Florida voters will decide on a constitutional amendment that would allow recreational cannabis in November. Public votes may also be held in several other states, including South Dakota, where supporters plan to submit signatures on Tuesday for a third attempt to legalize recreational marijuana.

After two previous failed attempts, a Nebraska group is collecting signatures to put two measures on the ballot this year: one to legalize medical marijuana and another to allow private companies to grow and sell it.

In North Dakota, criminal defense attorney Mark Friese is a former police officer who is supporting a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. He said the federal reclassification proposal could help this year’s initiative campaign immensely. North Dakota voters rejected legalization measures in 2018 and 2022 but approved medical marijuana in 2016.

“The bottom line is that the measure will allow for an intelligent and informed discussion about cannabis legislation, rather than succumbing to the historical objection that marijuana is a dangerous drug like LSD or black tar heroin,” Friese said.

Others aren’t so sure the reclassification will make a difference.

Jackee Winters, president of an Idaho group supporting a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana, said it’s difficult to get potential supporters to sign her petition.

“People are literally scared to sign anything in Idaho that has to do with marijuana,” she said. “They’re afraid the police will come to their house.”

The proposed federal change may have little effect in 24 states that have already legalized recreational marijuana for adults, or in another 14 states that allow medical marijuana. But advocates hope it could sway opinions in a dozen other states that ban cannabis outright or have limited access to products with low levels of THC, the chemical that gets people high.

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Georgia has allowed patients with certain illnesses and medical approval to consume low-THC cannabis products since 2015. But until last year, there was no legal way to buy them. Eight dispensaries already sell the products.

The Georgia Board of Pharmacy also last year issued licenses for low-THC products to 23 independent pharmacies, but the federal DEA in November warned the pharmacies that dispensing medical marijuana violated federal law.

Dawn Randolph, executive director of the Georgia Pharmacy Association, said a federal rescheduling of marijuana could pave the way for pharmacists to treat marijuana products “like any other prescription medication.”

In other states, like Tennessee, elected leaders remain hesitant to support medical or recreational marijuana. Tennessee Senate President Randy McNally, a Republican, previously said he would not support changing state law until the federal government reclassifies marijuana.

But after reports of the DEA’s recommended reclassification, McNally still avoided supporting any push to legalize medical marijuana.

Removing marijuana as a Schedule I drug “would just start the conversation in my mind. It wouldn’t end it. There would still be a lot of issues to be resolved if the downgrade to Schedule III happens as proposed,” he said Thursday.

A proposal to legalize medical marijuana died in a Kansas Senate committee without a vote this year, and an attempt to force debate across the Senate failed by a wide margin. The strongest and most influential opposition has come from law enforcement, who have raised concerns that any legalization could invite organized crime and make it difficult to assess whether people are driving under the influence.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Tony Mattivi calls the DEA’s effort to reschedule marijuana “misguided and politicized,” said Melissa Underwood, KBI spokeswoman.

The head of the South Carolina state police force has also opposed efforts to legalize medical marijuana, saying it opens the door to the use of other drugs. A legalization bill backed by Republican state Sen. Tom Davis passed the Senate this year but stalled in a House committee.

“It’s hard to reconnect a lot of people who have been conditioned to think about marijuana a certain way,” said Davis, who has vowed to re-pass a medical marijuana bill next year if he is reelected.

While not fully embracing medical marijuana, Iowa and Texas have laws that allow limited access to some cannabis products with low levels of THC. Some Texas cities have passed laws allowing small amounts of marijuana. But a similar effort in Lubbock, home of Texas Tech University, was mocked in a Facebook post by Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows as part of the left’s “national effort to undermine public safety.”

In Wyoming, a decade of pro-marijuana efforts through ballot initiatives and legislation have gone nowhere. Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, has been ambivalent about legalizing medical marijuana and opposes legal recreational marijuana. The GOP-led Legislature hasn’t even debated the latest bill to decriminalize marijuana and legalize medical marijuana.

However, one organizer, who helped with unsuccessful petition efforts in 2022 and 2023, hopes the federal rescheduling of marijuana will spur more lawmakers to support legalization.

“Resistance will be much less palpable,” said legalization advocate Apollo Pazell.

Associated Press writers Jeff Amy in Atlanta, Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, and Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report .