US reclassifies some marijuana products as less dangerous substances

A sweeping shift in US drug policy is underway after the Department of Justice said it would immediately ease restrictions on some marijuana products and speed up the long-running effort to treat the drug as less dangerous under federal law.

The Trump administration said FDA-approved marijuana products and state-regulated medical marijuana would be moved at once from a category reserved for highly addictive drugs to one considered to carry a low to moderate risk of abuse.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the federal government would also put a broader review of marijuana on a faster track, seeking to move the psychoactive plant under federal law from a so-called Schedule I drug to Schedule III.

Such a change would place marijuana alongside common painkillers, ketamine and testosterone, instead of keeping it in the same category as heroin and LSD.

“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,” Mr Blanche said in a statement.

The announcement came after a December executive order from President Donald Trump instructing the Justice Department to relax marijuana restrictions.

The ‌measure is widely expected to lift a fast-expanding US cannabis industry, with companies including Canopy Growth, Tilray Brands, Trulieve Cannabis poised to benefit.

Investors moved quickly after the decision. US-listed shares ⁠of Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis, Canopy, and Tilray rose between 6% and 13%.

“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,” Irwin ‌Simon, the chairman and CEO of Tilray, said in a statement.

Marijuana’s long-standing designation as a Schedule I drug — a classification meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use — has drawn years of criticism as outdated, especially as nearly half of US states moved to legalise cannabis. The drug is legal in some form ⁠in about 40 states.

Legal sales are expected to top $47bn in 2026, according to market researcher BDSA.

Marijuana remains the most widely used illicit ⁠drug both globally and in the United States. Nearly one in five US residents use it each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Millions of Americans have been arrested for possessing the drug, even as publicly traded businesses continue to sell cannabis-related products.

The Biden administration launched a similar push in 2024, but the measure was never finalised before Mr Trump returned to office and the US Drug Enforcement Administration abandoned the effort.