US reclassifies some marijuana products as less dangerous drugs drugs news

The move is the latest example of a shift away from heavy penalties to broader legalization efforts.

The United States has announced it will reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a move in line with a growing trend away from punishing its possession.

The Justice Department clarified Thursday that the change does not legalize recreational or medical marijuana under federal law.

But it moves some marijuana products from the Schedule I category to the less restrictive Schedule III on the federal government’s five-tier system for regulating drugs.

Schedule III is for substances with “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence”.

“This redistricting action allows research on the safety and efficacy of this substance to continue, ultimately providing better care to patients and more reliable information to doctors,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch said in a statement.

Proponents of looser restrictions have long argued that placing marijuana in the same category as heroin as highly addictive drugs has led to disproportionate rates of arrest and imprisonment.

They also point to the therapeutic benefits that some patients report from marijuana use, as well as the barriers to marijuana-related research.

Blanch previously said the U.S. government would move forward with the process for comprehensive reclassification of marijuana, with hearings set to begin in June.

Once the focal point of law enforcement efforts that involved millions of people in the US criminal justice system, marijuana has gradually seen more mainstream acceptance in recent years.

In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling on the Justice Department to loosen marijuana restrictions. His Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had taken similar steps to reclassify marijuana, but the process was not finalized by the time he left office in January 2025.

Marijuana is currently legal in some form in 40 US states, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one in five people in the US reported using marijuana in the past year.

A 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of American adults said marijuana should be legal for both recreational and medical purposes, while 32 percent indicated it should be legal only for medical purposes. Only 11 percent said the drug should not be legalized at all.

Companies offering cannabis products have also become a lucrative industry, with market researcher BDSA predicting legal sales of $47 billion in 2026.