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.
“This rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information," Blanche 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. The move follows a December executive order from President Donald Trump directing the Justice Department to loosen marijuana restrictions.
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 following the decision. Shares of Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis, Canopy, and Tilray jumped between 6% and 13%.
Marijuana has for years been classified at the same level as far more potent drugs like heroin even as nearly half of U.S. states have moved to legalize cannabis over the last several years. The Biden administration embarked on a similar move in 2024 but the measure was not finalized when Trump returned to office.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy; editing by Susan Heavey, Michelle Nichols and Nick Zieminski)
