Cannabis company stocks surged on Tuesday following reports that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would move to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), Forbes reports.
- Canopy Growth Corporation shares surged more than 65% to close at $14.88.
- Tilray Brands shares jumped 35% to close at $2.47.
- Aurora Cannabis shares jumped 46% to close at $9.23.
- Amplify Alternative Harvest shares jumped 26% to close at $2.40.
- Trees Corporation shares also jumped 26%, closing at $0.11.
The DEA announcement on Tuesday was a long-awaited development in the rescheduling process that President Joe Biden (D) started in October 2022 when he called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate and reconsider “how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.” It marks the first time the U.S. government has reduced the schedule of cannabis since the CSA became federal law in 1971 and listed the plant as Schedule I, which is reserved for “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”
Notably, Schedule III does not mean the end of federal prohibition — rather, cannabis would still be federally regulated alongside the likes of ketamine and anabolic steroids. However, the change should lead to lower taxes for the cannabis industry and easier access to cannabis for medical and research purposes, and it signals the most significant shift in U.S. drug policy in over 50 years.
Many cannabis advocates have praised the rescheduling move as progress in the cannabis reforms effort but many more highlight concerns about discrepancies between state and federal law, and call for removing cannabis from the CSA entirely.
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