WISCONSIN — This week's move in Washington by the Justice Department to reclassify marijuana could immediately impact research efforts on it here in Wisconsin.

"There's been some testing of quality, there's been some testing of purity," said Lucas Richert, a professor with the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "I think this change, this reclassification, would jump-start more research [and] perhaps more funding as well."

While all the states surrounding Wisconsin have already legalized marijuana for medicinal use and some have authorized it for recreational use as well, Wisconsin has held out so far, but Richert said it could be a matter of time before that changes.

"Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia allow medical use of cannabis products," Richert said. "With reclassification, the whole of the U.S., and that includes Wisconsin, would have access to medical marijuana in the years ahead."

Watch the full interview above.