Summary:

- The article discusses a newly discovered tape recording from 1971 in which former U.S. President Richard Nixon admits that cannabis is not a dangerous drug, contrary to his administration's public stance at the time.

- The tape reveals Nixon's private acknowledgment that cannabis is not as harmful as other illicit substances, despite the federal government's classification of it as a Schedule I controlled substance with "no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

- The discovery of this tape challenges the historical narrative around the Nixon administration's harsh crackdown on cannabis and the subsequent "War on Drugs," suggesting that the president's public position was at odds with his private assessment of the drug's relative safety.