Biden administration pushes for marijuana reclassification, boosting cannabis stocks

The Biden administration's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) loosen federal restrictions on marijuana by moving it from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This recommendation, based on a review conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), could be the biggest change in federal drug policy in decades. However, the HHS stopped short of advising complete removal of marijuana from the CSA. The DEA has the final authority to schedule or reschedule a drug, and it will now initiate its review. Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III could have significant implications for the cannabis industry, including lower federal taxes and easier access to banking services. It could also facilitate research on cannabis and the development of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals. However, advocates argue that rescheduling alone does not address the issue of criminalization.