WASHINGTON — A decision on whether to designate marijuana as a less dangerous drug in the U.S. won’t be made before the presidential election in November — making it more likely to become a major political issue in the race for the top job.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week set a December 2 hearing date on a proposed historic change to federal drug policy.

The hearing date means a final decision could come in the next administration. While it’s possible it could come before the end of President Biden’s term, an order before Inauguration Day “would be pretty expedited,” said marijuana attorney Brian Vicente.

This could shed new light on the presidential candidates’ positions on marijuana.

Vice President Kamala Harris has supported decriminalizing the drug and has said it is “absurd” to place it in the DEA’s Schedule I category, which classifies it alongside drugs like heroin and LSD. The Democratic candidate’s stance has changed over the years; she once oversaw marijuana enforcement and opposed legalizing adult recreational use in California when she ran for attorney general in 2010.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, expressed support Saturday for legalizing the drug in Florida, following earlier comments in which he said he increasingly agreed that people should not be imprisoned for the drug, which is now legal in many states, “whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump said he supported medical marijuana and that pot should be left to the states. But during his first term, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned an Obama-era policy that prevented federal authorities from cracking down on pot in states where it is legal.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a question about his stance on reclassifying the drug.

The Justice Department proposed reclassifying marijuana in May, saying the change would recognize its medical uses and acknowledge that it has less abuse potential than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. Schedule I drugs are described by the DEA as having “a high potential for abuse with no accepted medical use,” while drugs classified as Schedule II or lower are considered to have “an acceptable medical use and may be prescribed, dispensed, or administered,” despite varying risks of abuse.

The proposal, which would not legalize marijuana for recreational use, comes after a call for a review by Biden, who called the change “monumental.”

The DEA said it has not yet taken a position on whether to make the changes, noting in the memo that it will consider the issue as the federal rulemaking process continues.

The new classification would be the biggest change to U.S. drug policy in 50 years and could be a powerful political issue, especially among younger voters. But it has faced opposition from groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Its president, Kevin Sabet, says there is not enough data to move marijuana to the less dangerous Schedule III category, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids. The DEA’s decision to hold the hearing is “a huge victory in our fight to ensure that this decision is guided by medical science, not politics,” he said in a statement, adding that attorneys general from 18 states support his opposition.

The hearing caused some concern among marijuana industry representatives, but the DEA’s decision to call it came as little surprise.

“While the outcome may ultimately be better, I think we’re so used to delays that it’s just a little disappointing,” said Stephen Abraham, chief financial officer at The Blinc Group, a supplier of cartridges and other equipment used in marijuana vaporizers. “Anytime you free up or stop resources from the legal market, that’s good for the illegal market.”

The proposal, signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland rather than DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, followed a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Federal drug policy has lagged behind many states in recent years. Thirty-eight states have legalized marijuana for medicinal use, while 24 have legalized recreational use.

Lawmakers from both major political parties have pushed for the change as marijuana has become increasingly decriminalized and accepted. A Gallup poll last year found that 70% of adults support legalization, the highest level the polling firm has ever seen and more than double the roughly 3 in 10 who supported it in 2000.

The marijuana industry has also grown rapidly, and state-licensed marijuana businesses are interested in the schedule change, in part because it could allow them to take advantage of federal business tax deductions that are not available to businesses involved in the “trafficking” of Schedule I or II drugs. For some of Vicente’s clients, the change would effectively lower the tax rate from 75% to 25%.

Some legalization advocates also hope that changing the timeline could help convince Congress to pass legislation aimed at opening banking doors to marijuana businesses. Currently, the drug’s legal status means that many federally regulated banks are reluctant to lend to such businesses, or even provide check cashing or other basic services.

The rescheduling could also make marijuana research easier, since it’s difficult to conduct authorized clinical trials for Schedule I substances. Some medical marijuana advocates worry that the discussion has become deeply politicized, and the focus on the potential impact of the rescheduling on the industry has diverted attention from those who could benefit.

“We were hoping that we could finally take the next step and create the national medical marijuana program that we need,” said Steph Sherer, founder and president of Americans for Safe Access, which advocates for marijuana to be classified as a separate drug and for the creation of a medical marijuana office within DHS.

However, the immediate impact of the schedule change on the nation’s criminal justice system would likely be smaller because federal prosecutions for possession alone have been relatively rare in recent years.

Peltz reported from New York.

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