--- description: The head of the country's Drug Enforcement Administration has admitted marijuana is "clearly" safer than heroin. title: DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Drugs](/tag/drugs/) ## Drugs Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 6, 2015 5:01 PM CUT  One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group March 25, 2010 in Berkeley, California. One-ounce bags of medicinal marijuana are displayed at the Berkeley Patients Group March 25, 2010 in Berkeley, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 6, 2015 5:01 PM CUT The head of the country’s Drug Enforcement Administration has acknowledged that marijuana is safer than heroin. On Wednesday, DEA acting chief Chuck Rosenberg admitted “heroin is clearly more dangerous than marijuana,” [the Huffington Post reports](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dea-chief-marijuana-heroin-danger%5F55c25079e4b0f7f0bebb4ef5 "undefined"). Last week, Rosenberg had said marijuana is “probably not” as dangerous as heroin, but added that he was “not an expert.” Marijuana is still classified by the DEA as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. The category is for drugs with the highest potential of abuse and no medical value. Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana, and 23 states have legalized it for medical purposes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/"},"headline":"The DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin","datePublished":"2015-08-06T17:01:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:58:17.895Z","description":"The DEA chief had said pot is \"probably not\" as bad as heroin, but that he was \"not an expert\"","url":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/","keywords":["Drugs","Marijuana"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana In California To Appear On Nov. Ballot","caption":"An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana In California To Appear On Nov. Ballot","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/","name":"The DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: More Kids Exposed to Marijuana","description":"A new study saw a rise in exposure ot marijuana for children under six. Watch Know Right Now to find out more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NgXDaOt5/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-09T15:40:38.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NgXDaOt5.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/","duration":"PT1M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```