By Bhargav Acharya
April 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice is reclassifying FDA-approved and state-licensed marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Thursday.
The announcement does not legalize marijuana across the United States.
In a post on X, Blanche said the Justice Department was “immediately rescheduling FDA-approved marijuana and state-licensed marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.”
The department is also initiating an expedited hearing to consider the broader rescheduling of marijuana, it said in a statement.
The decision to reclassify marijuana represents one of the most significant federal changes to marijuana policy in decades, removing barriers to researching the drug’s potential use.
It will likely reshape the cannabis industry by lowering tax burdens and making it easier for firms to secure funding, benefiting companies like Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands, Trulieve Cannabis.
U.S.-listed shares of cannabis companies jumped premarket following the decision. Shares of Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands jumped between 6% to 13%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy; editing by Susan Heavey and Michelle Nichols)
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