Cannabis stocks rise on call to lower marijuana risk category

By Carmen Reinicke and Riley Griffin

Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine recommended to the Drug Enforcement Agency that cannabis be classified as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, according to a letter viewed by Bloomberg News. A DEA spokesperson confirmed the department had received the letter and the agency will initiate its own review.

A Schedule III rating would remove some burden from US operators, Stifel analyst W. Andrew Carter wrote in a note. Colorado Leads, an alliance of cannabis business leaders, calls the recommendation by HHS “a historic step toward federal cannabis policy reform,” said Chuck Smith, president of the board of directors, in a Wednesday statement.

Truman Bradley, executive director of the latter organization, argued that cannabis would still be considered illegal by the federal government, meaning “consumers and patients can still be criminally punished.”

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