United States President Donald Trump has said his administration is “looking at” reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he would make a determination on the legal classification of the drug over the next few weeks.
“That determination hopefully will be the right one,” Trump said. “It’s a very complicated subject.”
Trump said that while he had heard “great things” about medical-use cannabis, he had heard bad things about “just about everything else” to do with the drug.
“Some people like it, some people hate it,” he said. “Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.”
Stocks in cannabis-related businesses soared following Trump’s remarks.
New York-based Tilray Brands jumped nearly 42 percent, while Canada’s Village Farms International and Canopy Growth Corp closed up about 34 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Trump made his comments after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he told attendees at a recent fundraising dinner that he was interested in reclassifying the drug.
While cannabis is fully legal, including for recreational use, in 24 US states, the use and possession of the drug is illegal at the federal level.
Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
Under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification system, Schedule I drugs are defined as those with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.
Former US President Joe Biden proposed reclassifying cannabis as a Schedule III drug – defined as those with a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” – but failed to enact the change before leaving office in January.
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