The Justice Department made headlines when it took the unprecedented step of moving forward with the removing cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, where it was listed alongside heroin, ecstasy, and peyote, and reclassifying it to Schedule III, a category reserved for substances with low abuse potential and accepted medical benefits.
This is, by all accounts, one of the most significant policy advancements for legal cannabis since states first began to legalize it for adult use in 2014.
And while the rescheduling of cannabis does not make it federally legal, it does send yet another significant signal affirming cannabis’ normalization and status, not only as a legitimate industry, but also, one that is viewed as such by the highest levels of the federal government.
