Biden Announces 'Monumental' Marijuana Rescheduling, DOJ To Take Next Steps

President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that his administration is officially moving to reschedule marijuana under federal law, while praising what he called a “monumental” step.

"Today my administration took a major step to reclassify marijuana from a schedule one drug to a schedule three drug. It's an important move toward reversing long-standing inequities. Today's announcement builds on the work we've already done, and it adds to the action we've taken to lift barriers to housing, employment, small business loans and so much more for tens of thousands of Americans," Biden said.

Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana.

So today, the @TheJusticeDept is taking the next step to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under federal law.

Here's what that means: pic.twitter.com/TMztSyyFYm

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 16, 2024

Justice Dept. On The Move

The Justice Department is expected to post its proposed rules to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in the Federal Register, a senior administration official said on Thursday. A 60-day public comment period will follow.

"Look folks, no one should be in jail for merely using or possessing marijuana. Period," the president said. "Far too many lives have been upended because of a failed approach to marijuana and I'm committed to righting those wrongs. You have my word on it."

The White House announcement comes several weeks after the Department of Justice confirmed the DEA was moving to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug.

Cannabis Stocks Rose On The News

Following the historic announcement, cannabis stocks quickly reacted with AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF MSOS trading up 7.54% at $10.34 per share at the time of writing. Another marijuana ETF, AdvisorShares Pure Cannabis YOLO, was up 5.41% at $4.4 per share.

Popular weed giants, Canopy Growth CGC Aurora Cannabis ACB were trading 15.35% higher at $11.43 per share and 11.10% at $7.91 per share, respectfully.

Curaleaf Holdings CURLF was slightly up, trading 5.98% higher at $5.95 per share, and one of the biggest cannabis players in Canada and the US, Tilray TLRY was trading just a bit higher or $6.75% with $2.21 per share.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney and Shutterstock photo.