WASHINGTON: The US government on Thur­sday made it easier for Americans to use cannabis for medical reasons by reclassifying the drug and enabling more research into its safety and efficacy.

Marijuana is now desc­ribed as having moderate to low addiction potential, “expanding patients’ acc­ess to treatments and empo­wering doctors to make better-informed healt­hcare decisions”, acting attorney general Todd Blanche said.

The government appe­ars to be catching up with broad societal shifts in the United States — adult marijuana use for any reason is legal in 24 states and the US capital, and approved for medicinal use in 40 states.

Until Thursday, it was still ranked federally as “Schedule I”, a category for drugs, including heroin and methamphetamine, with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Marijuana products approved or regulated by federal or state agencies have now been moved to the third rung of a five-level Drug Schedule. Schedule III substances, which include ketamine and anabolic steroids, are considered to have medical value and less potential for abuse.

The Department of Jus­tice said Thursday’s move followed up on President Donald Trump’s executive order in December on increasing medical marijuana research.

It also called for expedited hearings beginning in June that would “provide a timely and legally compliant pathway to evaluate broader changes to marijuana’s status under federal law”, a DOJ statement said.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026