On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research, that moves cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 

Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision. 

Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse less than the drugs in Schedules I and II, a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a potential for moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.

More from TheStreet:

• Target quietly rolls out controversial product to lure back customers 
• This legacy snack company is embracing stoners
• Hedge fund veteran sends strong message about marijuana stocks

But as its title indicates, it also opens a door for the hemp industry, which has been on its back foot since Congress last month included a hemp ban in its bill ending the federal government shutdown. 

That ban threatens to virtually wipe out a multi-billion-dollar industry that has grown up around hemp-derived cannabinoids.

The executive order had its genesis in the Biden administration, which ordered a review of medical marijuana's status, leading to a 2023 Food & Drug Administration (FDA) finding that there was scientific support for certain medical uses of the plant.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) then recommended to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that marijuana be controlled under Schedule III of the CSA. DEA had yet to act on that recommendation, but now the president has. 

Related: Apple, Cannabis, Oatly IPO and Dogecoin – On TheStreet Tuesday