Officials from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend that the state Legislature legalize the use of medical marijuana on Wednesday.

The proposal would reduce marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule II, classifying the drug as presenting the potential for abuse but also having acceptable medical uses.

If the suggestion passes through the Legislature, the Board of Pharmacy would become the nation's first such organization to back medical marijuana use.

Lloyd Jessen, the director of Iowa's Board of Pharmacy, said because a state agency made the recommendations, a legalization bill cannot be filed until next year at the earliest.

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