U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) has presented legislation to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Steube’s office said in a news release that the law would allow researchers to utilize government funding to determine the medicinal value of cannabis.

The Florida lawmaker proposed the “Marijuana 1-to-3 Act”, a legislation that would reclassify cannabis under federal law from Schedule I to Schedule III.

If passed, the law would significantly benefit both marijuana businesses burdened by federal taxation and researchers working to determine its medicinal usefulness.

Schedule III drugs, according to US federal law, are less likely to be abused than Schedule I or II narcotics, have a medical use, and represent a low to moderate risk of addiction if abused.

In October of last year, President Joe Biden (D) said that his government will investigate rescheduling cannabis. To far, however, the Controlled Substances Act has not been amended to alter the scheduling of cannabis.

This is the third time in Steube’s three tenure that he has attempted to advance such legislation. In 2019 and 2021, he attempted to propose a similar move, but the House did not conduct a hearing.