Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed orders Thursday reclassifying state-legal marijuana as a less-dangerous Schedule III drug — easing research into the plant’s medicinal properties after more than five decades.
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“Under the decisive leadership of [President Trump], this Department of Justice is delivering on his promise to improve American healthcare,” Blanche tweeted, along with a photo of himself signing the document.
Blanche wrote he was “immediately rescheduling FDA-approved marijuana and state-licensed marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule IIl” and “ordering a new, expedited hearing with set deadlines, to fully reschedule marijuana.”
The action will allow researchers to bypass more onerous rules for researching various cannabis compounds and — more significantly — entitles state-legal pot companies to federal tax deductions for business expenses for the first time.