Cannabis stocks surged Wednesday after the U.S. Health and Human Services Department called for marajuana to be reclassified as a lower-risk drug in the United States.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance on par with heroin, a federal classification that contradicts many U.S. states’ recreational legalization of marajuana.
The Health and Human Services Department is now instead recommending for marajuana to be reclassified as Schedule III drug.
Marajuana’s reclassification could help expand the cannabis industry, which has slumped in recent months following its pandemic surge.
