--- description: As states legalize weed, John Oliver thinks its time to re-think federal law on marijuana title: John Oliver Blazed On the War On Weed On 'Last Week Tonight' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfc54d7108f3439/6988c0f4cd1bbaf6807048c5/gettyimages-659618566.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John Oliver Says It's High Time to Update Federal Marijuana Laws by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2017 9:37 AM CUT  John Oliver attends the 2017 Garden of Laughs at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 2017 in New York City. John Oliver attends the 2017 Garden of Laughs at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 2017 in New York City.Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 3, 2017 9:37 AM CUT Marijuana, or as [John Oliver](http://time.com/3763091/april-fools-day-john-oliver/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") calls it, “catnip for people,” has been legalized for recreational use in [eight states](http://time.com/4559278/marijuana-election-results-2016/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined"), while 44 states now have some form of medical marijuana law. However, those state laws are at odds with federal government regulations, potentially setting them on a collision with the Trump administration in a [crackdown](http://time.com/4713229/donald-trump-california-marijuana/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined") spearheaded by [Attorney General Jeff Sessions.](http://time.com/4685414/jeff-sessions-recreational-marijuana-legal-crackdown/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") That potential conflict earned the attention of _Last Week Tonight_ on Sunday. A recent study shows that 60% of Americans now favor legalization of the drug. “Marijuana is something we’ve just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor,” said Oliver. However, thanks to Richard Nixon — or as Oliver calls him, “the Mozart of racially motivated law making” — marijuana is classified as a [Schedule 1 drug](http://time.com/4448757/7-scientific-effects-of-marijuana-that-experts-want-to-study/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined") alongside methamphetamines and cocaine. It’s a classification that Oliver seems to believe is ridiculous, saying that weed is a Schedule 1 drug the same way “hedgehogs are apex predators.” There are a few bills making their way through the House of Representatives that could re-classify the drug, but until that happens, federal law still considers marijuana to be illegal, which can cause trouble for medical and recreational [marijuana](http://time.com/4565438/california-marijuana-faq-rules-prop-64/?iid=sr-link10 "undefined") users even in states where weed has been legalized. According to Oliver, it’s high time for the federal laws to be updated. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4722445/john-oliver-marijuana-laws-last-week-tonight/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4722445/john-oliver-marijuana-laws-last-week-tonight/"},"headline":"John Oliver Says It's High Time to Update Federal Marijuana Laws","datePublished":"2017-04-03T09:37:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:51:22.843Z","description":"“Marijuana is something we’ve just all gradually decided is okay, like Mark Wahlberg as a serious actor,” said Oliver","url":"https://time.com/4722445/john-oliver-marijuana-laws-last-week-tonight/","keywords":["Marijuana","Television","politics","John Oliver","Last Week Tonight","Late Night Comedy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfc54d7108f3439/6988c0f4cd1bbaf6807048c5/gettyimages-659618566.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfc54d7108f3439/6988c0f4cd1bbaf6807048c5/gettyimages-659618566.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2017 Garden Of Laughs","caption":"2017 Garden Of Laughs","creditText":"Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/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/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4722445/john-oliver-marijuana-laws-last-week-tonight/","name":"John Oliver Says It's High Time to Update Federal Marijuana Laws"}}]}] ```