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. 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.
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Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.Rogers@time.com