The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is recommending that cannabis be reclassified as a Schedule III drug, which would codify that it has medicinal value and is less dangerous than its current Schedule I designation, Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: The U.S. cannabis industry needed a win, just days after one of its best-known companies, MedMen, filed for bankruptcy protection.

Legalized marijuana in Pennsylvania has the potential to bring in more than $1 billion in tax revenue over the next five years, according to a new report by the Independent Fiscal Office.

The study shows, if legalized this year, legalized marijuana could generate $41 million in General Fund revenue in 2024-25.

That number increases to $185 million in 2025-26 and surpasses $250 million every year after 2026, according to the study.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said Thursday that he had vetoed bills to establish a state-regulated marketplace for marijuana and to raise Virginia’s minimum wage, gutting two Democratic priorities a day after opposition to his plans for a sports arena in Alexandria led Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis to keep the project in the District.

To the cannabis-curious, possibilities are bountiful in a nation increasingly supporting the legalization of marijuana.

In some U.S. cities, nearly every block seems to boast cannabis dispensaries fashioned with a telltale green cross symbol. Inside, many resemble the modern minimalism of an Apple Store, and customers can find strains with varying concentrations of THC, cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids, yielding the physiological gamut between calm and energetic.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — During the push to legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio, campaigners pointed a finger at a major reason to do so: Ohioans are already getting it from Michigan.

President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system.

Biden is also granting clemency to 11 people serving what the White House called “disproportionately long” sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Biden said his actions would help make the “promise of equal justice a reality.”

A Senate committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would prohibit federal regulators from penalizing a bank for providing financial services to a legitimate cannabis business.

The measure, passed by the Senate Banking Committee, would impose changes to banking regulations that have been long sought by the pot industry and would let consumers more easily buy weed with credit and debit cards, eliminating the danger associated with all-cash cannabis establishments. 

Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will vote Thursday on whether their Tribal Council should legalize the recreational use of marijuana on their reservation in western North Carolina.

Although the state still criminalizes the possession of even small amounts of marijuana, the sovereign tribal nation has the authority to regulate cannabis on the Qualla Boundary, the tribe’s 57,000-acre reservation. 

The Department of Health and Human Services completed its review of rescheduling cannabis and sent a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the agencies confirmed. 

Bloomberg News reported that HHS recommended demoting the drug from Schedule I to Schedule III, but neither agency would confirm details. The recommendation is nonbinding, and the DEA will make the final decision.