Effort to Ease Cannabis Rules Faces New Opposition From Experts

A Harvard addiction scientist and a former government lawyer are urging the US Department of Justice to reject a plan that would ease federal restrictions on cannabis, which the industry has been counting on to grow their businesses.

In a new paper published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, the authors argue that the Biden administration’s push to reclassify cannabis relied on flawed reasoning and downplayed health risks, including cannabis-use disorder and links to psychosis.

Rescheduling would move cannabis into a lower-risk category, recognizing its potential medical use.

Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg

The new paper adds to the arguments against rescheduling and could give the Trump administration more cover to block the move.

The US Department of Health ...