US DEA medical marijuana registration portal to launch Wednesday 28-Apr 07:35

Companies seeking to register as medical marijuana dispensaries after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered ​the rescheduling of cannabis can do so starting on ‌Wednesday, according to a notice on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's website.

The DEA's medical marijuana registration portal will go live ​Wednesday at 9 a.m. EST, less than a ​week after the U.S. Justice Department announced that ⁠it would immediately loosen restrictions on some marijuana products ​and move quickly to reclassify the drug as less ​dangerous.

Applicants will have to pay an annual $794 fee and answer a series of liability questions, including about whether they ever surrendered ​or had a state professional license or controlled ​substance registration revoked or suspended, according to the DEA's instructions.

They will ‌also ⁠have to describe security measures present at the locations under consideration to be a dispensary, the application instructions show.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug ​in the ​world and ⁠in the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. residents use it a year, ​according to the U.S. Centers for Disease ​Control ⁠and Prevention.

Millions of Americans have been arrested for possession of the drug, even while growing businesses listed on ⁠stock ​exchanges sell cannabis-related products.

The rescheduling ​move does not legalize marijuana across the United States.