Dec 18 (Reuters) – Shares of cannabis firms rose in premarket trading on Thursday, driven by ​expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump will ‌sign an executive order easing federal regulations on marijuana.

Central to ‌the debate over marijuana regulation are calls to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug, a move that would represent the most significant change in marijuana ⁠policy since 1970.

Such ‌a reclassification will not legalize cannabis but could lower tax burdens for firms, accelerate ‍research, enable standardized drug development and improve access to capital.

U.S.-listed shares of Tilray gained nearly 5%, SNDL rose ​3%, Canopy Growth more than 5% and AdvisorShares ‌Pure US Cannabis ETF was up 6.5% before the bell.

A reclassification would move marijuana from Schedule I, which includes substances like heroin, ecstasy and peyote that have no accepted medical use, to Schedule III, ⁠which covers substances with a ​moderate to low risk of ​physical or psychological dependence.

Trump is considering a Medicare pilot program that would provide some ‍seniors access ⁠to CBD, according to reports.

Rescheduling and Medicare coverage would likely attract investments from financial institutions and ⁠other investors.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh, Christy Santosh, additional reporting ‌by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj ‌Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)