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The drug's green light also means that the Drug Enforcement Agency now has 90 days to reschedule CBD, which it listed in January of last year as a "marihuana extract" separate from "marihuana" or THC.

That means instead of being listed alongside marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug with "no currently accepted medical use," CBD will soon be categorized as either a Schedule 2 or 3 drug, much like the popular ADHD medication Adderall.

"We don't have a choice on that," DEA public affairs officer Barbara Carreno told Business Insider. "It absolutely has to become Schedule 2 or 3."

Once that happens, it'll unleash what Carreno called a "sea change" for CBD manufacturers and the industry as a whole, which up until this point has existed in a legal grey area.

Apart from CBD, researchers are also actively studying THC and other marijuana compounds for a range of potential medical uses, from relieving pain to soothing severe nausea. Although Epidiolex is the first marijuana plant-based drug to land FDA approval, the agency has already given the green light to drugs whose active ingredient is a lab-made version of THC, for example.

In the meantime, experts look forward to seeing Epidiolex made available to patients in need.

"I'm not currently aware of any other major new drugs that are close to being where this drug is," Shinnar said.