US eases some marijuana restrictions and speeds up reclassification push

Washington: The United States Department of Justice said on Thursday it was immediately relaxing restrictions on some marijuana products and would move quickly on a wider effort to classify the drug as less dangerous, marking one of the most significant shifts in US drug policy in decades.

The step does not legalise marijuana nationwide, but it is expected to have major implications for the country’s cannabis industry, which has continued to face federal hurdles even as nearly all US states have allowed some form of medical use and almost half have also permitted recreational use.

Under the new move, state-regulated medical marijuana products will be shifted out of the category reserved for highly addictive drugs such as heroin and into a less restrictive class used for substances with low to moderate abuse potential, including common painkillers, ketamine and testosterone. Marijuana products approved by the US Food and Drug Administration will also be placed in that category.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the federal government would also accelerate a broader process to reclassify all uses of marijuana as less dangerous. The Justice Department said it will begin proceedings on June 29 to collect evidence and expert opinion on the proposed reclassification.

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 announcement follows a December executive order by President Donald Trump directing the Justice Department to loosen marijuana restrictions.

The measures are expected to reduce obstacles to research, ease tax pressures and improve access to funding for cannabis-related businesses. Companies such as Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands and Trulieve Cannabis are among those likely to benefit. Alongside medical marijuana and consumer cannabis products, some firms are also studying pharmaceutical applications for pain management, cancer symptoms, anxiety and other disorders.

US-listed cannabis stocks initially rose between 6% and 13% after the decision, though those gains later faded as investors responded to the limited immediate scope of the federal action.

Today marks a pivotal moment for the United States. With President Trump’s action to reschedule cannabis, federal policy is finally aligning with science, medicine, and most importantly, patient needs, said Irwin Simon, CEO of Tilray Brands.

State-level expansion and federal debate

Marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug — meaning it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use — has long drawn criticism, particularly as legal access has expanded at the state level.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalised marijuana for recreational use. Forty states have fully legalised it for medical use, while another eight permit some medical uses. Only Idaho and Kansas do not allow any legal use.

Market researcher BDSA expects legal sales to exceed $47 billion in 2026. Marijuana remains the most widely used illicit drug in both the United States and the world. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly one in five US residents uses it in a year. Millions of Americans have been arrested for possessing marijuana, even as publicly listed businesses sell cannabis-related products.

The Biden administration had launched a similar effort in 2024, but it was not completed before Trump returned to office, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration later scrapped that process.

Political reaction

Critics of marijuana legalisation have argued that loosening restrictions could increase use among minors, reduce workplace productivity and worsen traffic safety risks. Dozens of Republicans in Congress had objected in December when Trump ordered the Justice Department to ease regulations.

Reaction on Thursday was more restrained, though Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, criticised the move and said it would make it easier for Americans to use what he described as a dangerous drug.

Marijuana today is much more potent than just ten or twenty years ago, leading to increased psychosis, anti-social behaviour, and fatal car crashes, Cotton said in a social media post. A change to marijuana’s drug classification is a step in the wrong direction.