President Joe Biden took steps to overhaul US policy on marijuana on 6 October, pardoning thousands of people with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession and initiating a review of the drug’s classification, reports Reuters.
Biden said thousands of people with prior federal convictions could be denied employment, housing or educational opportunities and his executive action would relieve such “collateral” consequences.
Nearly 40 US states have legalized some form of marijuana use, but it remains completely illegal in some states and at the federal level. Reclassification would be a first step toward wider legalization, supported by a majority of Americans, and would bring sweeping changes for companies and law enforcement, affecting millions of people.
“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs,” Biden said. He urged state governors to follow suit. “Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” he said.
The results of a classification review could have far-reaching consequences. At present, the drug falls under the same classification as heroin and LSD and is in a higher classification than fentanyl and methamphetamine, the president said. If marijuana classification were to ease at the federal level, it could lead to major stock exchanges, listing companies involved in the cannabis trade and potentially allowing foreign companies to sell their products in the United States.
According to cannabis focused research firm BDSA’s September projections, the global cannabis industry is forecast to reach USD 55 billion in sales by 2026, with the US market growing to USD 40 billion by then, up from USD 25 billion last year. Industry experts believe US federal reforms could drive those figures much higher.