--- title: Marijuana: DEA Says Pot is Safer Than Heroin description: The head of the country's Drug Enforcement Administration has admitted marijuana is "clearly" safer than heroin. canonical: https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-06T17:01:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:15.461Z article:section: Health og:title: DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin og:description: But it's still a Schedule I drug og:url: https://time.com/3987552/dea-marijuana-heroin/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: An Initiative To Legalize Marijuana In California To Appear On Nov. Ballot og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin twitter:description: But it's still a Schedule I drug twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc63750e86747acf2/698854bae53aba30464de317/gettyimages-98049962.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The DEA Finally Admits Marijuana Is 'Clearly' Safer Than Heroin > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Know Right Now: More Kids Exposed to Marijuana [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: More Kids Exposed to Marijuana](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NgXDaOt5.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-06-09. A new study saw a rise in exposure ot marijuana for children under six. Watch Know Right Now to find out more._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 6, 2015 5:01 PM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 6, 2015 5:01 PM UTC 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). 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. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] ```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":"2026-08-04T07:58:15.461Z","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. 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