President Donald Trump today issued an executive order directing federal agencies to amend marijuana’s longstanding classification as a Schedule I federally controlled substance without accepted medical value. The order seeks to finalize a 2023 recommendation by the US Department of Health and Human Services calling for cannabis to be rescheduled to a Schedule III controlled substance. Specifically, it reads, “The Attorney General shall take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the CSA in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law.”
Prior to signing the order, Trump said, “These facts compel the federal government to recognize that marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications.” He called the reclassification “common sense,” and opined that the policy change would have a “tremendously positive impact.”
Other proposed policy changes announced today seek to expand patients’ access to regulated, plant-derived CBD products, and seek to provide a pathway for seniors to be reimbursed for the cost of these products by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Under the plan, seniors who use qualifying products would be reimbursed up to $500 annually, beginning April 1, 2026.
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “The Administration’s order calling to remove the cannabis plant from its Schedule I classification validates the experiences of tens of millions of Americans, as well as those of tens of thousands of physicians, who have long recognized that cannabis possesses legitimate medical utility. It wasn’t long ago that federal officials were threatening to seize doctors’ medical licenses just for discussing medical cannabis with their patients. This directive certainly marks a long overdue change in direction.”
He cautioned however: “But while such a move potentially provides some benefits to patients, and veterans especially, it still falls well short of the changes necessary to bring federal marijuana policy into the 21st century. Specifically, rescheduling fails to harmonize federal marijuana policy with the cannabis laws of most states, particularly the 24 states that have legalized its use and sale to adults — thereby leaving those who produce, dispense, possess, or use marijuana in compliance with state laws in jeopardy of federal prosecution. In order to rectify this state/federal conflict, and in order to provide state governments with the explicit authority to establish their own cannabis regulatory policies — like they already possess with respect to alcohol — cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substances Act altogether. Doing so would affirm America’s longstanding principles of federalism and appeal to Americans’ deep-rooted desires to be free from undue government intrusion into their daily lives.”
Armentano continued: “Nevertheless, as a first step forward, this federal policy change dramatically shifts the political debate surrounding cannabis. Specifically, it delegitimizes many of the tropes historically exploited by opponents of marijuana policy reform. Claims that cannabis poses unique harms to health, or that it’s not useful for treating chronic pain and other ailments, have now been rejected by the very federal agencies that formerly perpetuated them. Going forward, these specious allegations should be absent from any serious conversations surrounding legalizing and regulating cannabis.”
Finally, he added: “It is anticipated that reclassification will also provide tax fairness to state-licensed businesses — allowing them, for the first time, to take traditional tax deductions. This change levels the playing field and lowers these entities’ costs of doing business. This change also likely benefits cannabis consumers by resulting in lower overall prices for state-licensed retail products, further incentivizing them to abandon the underground market.”
NORML’s Political Director Morgan Fox also weighed in, stating that the Trump Administration’s reclassification endorsement reflects bipartisan support in favor of ending marijuana prohibition. “Having a Republican administration backing this effort will likely embolden more Republican lawmakers, many of whom have privately endorsed marijuana policy reform, to now do so publicly. It may also encourage lawmakers in Republican-led states that have yet to move toward a policy of legalization and regulation to take a serious look at doing so.”
Despite the Administration’s pronouncement, it remains unclear when a change in marijuana’s federal scheduling will be codified. Any final order to reclassify cannabis is subject to a period of judicial review whereby interested parties have an opportunity to challenge the order, which could further delay its implementation.
Since 1970, cannabis has been classified federally as a Schedule I controlled substance, meaning it possesses a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use.” In 2022, the Biden Administration initiated the regulatory process to review cannabis’ federal classification— marking the fifth time that an administrative petition to remove cannabis from Schedule I had been filed, but the first time that the White House had ever led such an effort. The following year, the US Department of Health and Human Services recommended for the first time that the Drug Enforcement Administration reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The following year, the DEA requested administrative hearings on the matter, but those hearings were stayed earlier this year.
Additional information on rescheduling and its implications for state and federal marijuana policies is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Cannabis Rescheduling: Myths Versus Reality.’