Last year when it was revealed, after decades of official government policy stating otherwise, that federal scientists were now admitting that cannabis is much less dangerous than previously expressed, the question on many people’s minds was “what has changed?”

At least one man was curious enough to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out exactly what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said to the Drug Enforcement Agency in its recommendation to re-schedule weed from a Schedule I drug (on the same level as heroin) to a Schedule III drug (the same level as anabolic steroids and testosterone). 

Related: Cannabis stocks get boost from good news out of the Biden administration

Texas lawyer Matthew Zorn received the 250-page recommendation last week and published the findings online along with the New York Times.

In coming up with its recommendation, the HHS looked at eight different criteria, including: potential for abuse; scientific evidence of pharmacological effect; current scientific knowledge about the drug; cannabis history and current pattern of abuse; the scope, duration and significance of abuse; the risks, if any, to public health; psychic or physiological dependence liability; whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled.

Only the Drug Enforcement Agency can re-schedule a drug, but the recommendation from the HHS, and the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Drug Abuse, which concurred with the study’s findings, could create the push needed for agency to act. 

“It is a surreal feeling to finally read an official document from the U.S. government that confirms what humanity has known for centuries, namely that cannabis has medicinal benefits and should be treated as such,” Brady Cobb, CEO of Sunburn Cannabis and a lobbyist for the industry told TheStreet. 

“From tax reform, to criminal justice reform, to accessibility to interstate commerce, this move would mark the true start of our legalization moment and I am proud to be a part of it along with so many others.”

The future of the cannabis industry 

The boost for beleaguered cannabis stocks has been muted since the recommendation was made last year. But the real holy grail for the industry would be the passage of the SAFE Banking Act that would federally legalize banking services for the drug. 

The rescheduling of cannabis could be a boost for that effort as well however, but in the meantime, the industry still has a bunch of hurdles ahead of it.

“Each of these breadcrumbs that is left along the way to rescheduling demonstrates a massive move in our cannabis markets. These stocks are clearly spring-loaded and are ready to respond in volume and price,” said Emily Paxhia, managing partner of Poseidon Investment Management, a cannabis-focused hedge fund.

“When one sees the moves on days where signals pointing toward scheduling and today specifically Schedule III, one can only imagine the torque we will see on the actual announcement from the DEA.”

Biden’s directive to re-schedule 

The Biden administration instructed the DHHS to review cannabis’ schedule I status – which puts it on the same level of illegality as heroin – in 2022 as the President moves slowly to fulfil a campaign promise to at least decriminalize marijuana use.

But, while cannabis seemingly has backing from the White House, under current rules, financial institutions that provide services to legal cannabis businesses face strict regulatory and reporting requirements, incentivizing the biggest banking institutions to stay out of the weed business. 

Late last year, payment systems processor Mastercard told financial institutions to stop allowing marijuana transactions on its debit cards, Reuters reported, due to the fact that cannabis is still illegal at the federal level.