The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday moved to make marijuana use a less serious federal crime, taking a step to remove the drug from a category that includes heroin in a shift that could shake up cannabis policy nationwide.
\nShares of cannabis firms including Tilray TLRY.O, Trulieve Cannabis Corp TRUL.CD and Green Thumb Industries GTII.CDsurged.
\nThe Justice Department, which oversees the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Attorney General Merrick Garland recommended that cannabis be classified as a so-called schedule three drug, with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, instead of schedule one, which is reserved for drugs with a high potential for abuse.
\nPenalties for possession and use of schedule three drugs can be less severe under federal law.
\nThe proposal goes from the Justice Department to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review and finalization. A public comment period will follow.
\nPresident Joe Biden, a Democrat who is running for re-election in November, initiated a review of the drug\u2019s classification in 2022, fulfilling a campaign promise that was important to left-leaning members of his political base.
\nCurrently, the drug falls under the DEA\u2019s class that includes heroin and LSD. It would be moved to a group that contains ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
\nGAP BETWEEN STATE, FEDERAL LAWS
\nReclassifying marijuana represents a first step toward narrowing the chasm between state and federal cannabis laws. The drug is legal in some form in nearly 40 states.
\nWhile rescheduling the drug does not make it legal, it would open up the doors to more research and medical use, lighter criminal penalties and increased private investment in the cannabis sector.
\nThe Justice Department\u2019s move came after the Health and Human Services Department in August recommended rescheduling cannabis as part of Biden\u2019s ordered review.
\nPublic support for marijuana legalization has risen from 25% of U.S. adults in 1995 to 70% in 2023, according to polling group Gallup.
\nColorado and Washington became the first states to allow recreational marijuana in 2012. Owen Bennett, an analyst at Jefferies investment banking group, said reclassification would increase the chances of full federal legalization within five years.
\nColorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement that he was \u201cthrilled\u201d that the Biden administration would be \u201ccorrecting decades of outdated federal policy.\u201d
\nBlack Americans and communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana drug enforcement for decades. Black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite similar usage rates, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
\nAccording to the Pew Research Center, Black and white Americans used marijuana at roughly comparable rates in 2020. Yet Black people accounted for 39% of all marijuana possession arrests despite being only 12% of the U.S. population then.
\nBiden and Vice President Kamala Harris are seeking to bolster support from Black voters for their re-election bid against former President Donald Trump, a Republican.
\nThe change would also enable more medical research under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which supports the reclassification. Cannabis has been successfully used to treat pain, spasticity and epilepsy, among other conditions.
\nSmart Approaches to Marijuana, a group against the \u201ccommercialization and normalization\u201d of marijuana, said it would mount a legal challenge if the proposal is finalized. It said investors in the marijuana industry would be the biggest beneficiaries of the change.
\n\u201cThis industry, which has lobbied heavily to sell demonstrably harmful products, will now use this announcement to drive even more deliberate misinformation about these high-potency drugs to expand use and addiction,\u201d Kevin Sabet, the group\u2019s president, said in a statement.
\nWhile states have set a minimum age of 21 for legal recreational marijuana use, concerns are likely to be raised about whether the proposed change could affect youth.
\nResearch has shown marijuana use in the teen years puts individuals at higher risk of not finishing high school, harm to brain development and later mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
\nA study published in March said there was no compelling evidence that legalizing marijuana sales to U.S. adults increased consumption among young teens.
\nBOON TO CANNABIS BUSINESS
\nIf marijuana\u2019s classification were to ease at the federal level, cannabis companies could reap significant benefits.
\nTheir shares could be eligible for listing on major stock exchanges, and the companies could receive more generous tax deductions.
\nMoreover, they could face fewer restrictions from banks. With marijuana illegal federally, most U.S. banks do not lend to or serve cannabis companies, prompting many to rely on cash transactions. This has made some vulnerable to violent crime.
\nThe National Cannabis Roundtable, which represents cannabis companies, said the move \u201cis critical for state legal cannabis businesses to be treated with fairness \u2026 and to survive the threat the illicit market poses to the regulated market and public safety,\u201d said Executive Director Saphira Galoob.
\n(Reuters)reclassification of marijuana. marijuana reclassification, cannabis policy, federal legalization<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Justice Department is moving to make marijuana use a less serious federal crime by recommending it be reclassified as a schedule three drug with lower penalties. This shift could bridge the gap between state and federal cannabis laws, leading to more research, medical use, lighter criminal penalties, and increased private investment in the cannabis sector. President Joe Biden initiated a review of the drug’s classification, and public support for marijuana legalization has significantly increased. Reclassifying marijuana could also benefit cannabis businesses by allowing their shares to be listed on major stock exchanges, receiving more generous tax deductions, and facing fewer restrictions from banks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4093,862,5800,1340,2011,580,611,6497,492,3397,4368,1766,186,1221,735,8552,1512,3348,279,2536,33,2577,5732,21,3818,166,263,1600,1610,1873,8553,4382,5098,210,1823,1991,2753,6775,3404,756,582,5679,3879,6653,7776,8549,8551,8480,3356,7632,4593,2946,4833,673,864,1853,4843,1670,7320,4671,8167,5967,3532,2342,7185,1022,6074,2599,4054,1222,6106,8482,433,1806,3798,7967,1827,3016,1358,1065,4598,1846,841,380,8550,1379,3519,457,165,6305,18,5447],"class_list":["post-10318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-abuse","tag-age","tag-americans","tag-arrested","tag-arrests","tag-attorney-general","tag-banks","tag-benefit","tag-biden","tag-biden-administration","tag-bridge","tag-budget","tag-business","tag-campaign","tag-cannabis","tag-cannabis-policy","tag-cash","tag-change","tag-comment","tag-communities","tag-companies","tag-concerns","tag-conditions","tag-crime","tag-development","tag-donald-trump","tag-drugs","tag-election","tag-evidence","tag-fairness","tag-federal-legalization","tag-food","tag-governor","tag-health","tag-increase","tag-industry","tag-investment","tag-investment-banking","tag-investors","tag-joe-biden","tag-justice","tag-law","tag-legal-challenge","tag-management","tag-march","tag-marijuana","tag-marijuana-reclassification","tag-marijuana-use","tag-mental-health","tag-misinformation","tag-office","tag-penalties","tag-policy","tag-polis","tag-population","tag-possession","tag-president","tag-president-joe-biden","tag-products","tag-proposal","tag-proposed-change","tag-public-safety","tag-public-support","tag-re-election","tag-reclassification","tag-republican","tag-research","tag-restrictions","tag-risk","tag-safety","tag-sales","tag-schedule-three-drug","tag-school","tag-services","tag-shares","tag-state","tag-statement","tag-stock-exchanges","tag-support","tag-tax","tag-tax-deductions","tag-threat","tag-trump","tag-us","tag-us-justice-department","tag-voters","tag-washington","tag-white","tag-white-house","tag-who","tag-world","tag-youth"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n