This would be the largest shift in US drug policy for decades and an end to decades of US resistance.
Marijuana will still be illegal at the federal level. But placing it in a Schedule III category as a narcotic, instead, would make it possible to expand research on its potential benefits.
Some Republican lawmakers had warned doing so could have the effect of normalising cannabis use.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency says that Schedule III narcotics — which include ketamine and anabolic steroids – have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence”.
People are “begging” for the change, especially those in “great pain,” including “incurable pain”, exacted by illnesses such as cancer and seizure disorders along with veterans who suffer service-related injuries, Trump said in the Oval Office during a signing ceremony Thursday.
CANNABIS and Hemp and The Endo Cannabinoid System
Trump expands access to cannabis in a major shift in drug policy
The order will reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I narcotic, to a Schedule III drug – placing it under the same category as Tylenol with codeine.
Cannabis will… pic.twitter.com/jqFZbDcYrV
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The president said cannabis was no different from prescription painkillers that can be used legally for pain, but also open the door to abuse and harm.
The new designation also carries tax consequences for state-approved cannabis dispensaries: Now under federal rules, they are automatically considered disallowed from taking some tax deductions if they sell anything that’s classified as Schedule I.
In addition to the cannabis rescheduling, Trump is instructing the White House staff to work with Congress on a bill that allows some Americans — including children suffering debilitating seizures and professional athletes who endure constant pounding and pain — to take a substance called cannabidiol, or CBD.
Trump has also told staff he wants them to work with Congress on legalizing a version of cannabidiol for some Americans, while prohibiting it for everyone else.
Health officials have been tasked with creating “methods and models” for tracking the real-world health effects of CBD.
“These commonsense actions will help people, as well as further this administration’s continued fight against the deadly drug crisis,” one senior administration official said of the order.
In recent years, the majority of US states have legalized cannabis for some type of medical use and 24 of them agreed to allow recreational use. But since 1971, cannabis has been a Schedule I narcotic — meaning that it is believed to have no applied medical purpose and also to have potential for abuse.
The Biden administration also proposed that reclassification, and the D.E.A. in April 2024 moved to change its rule but was then mired in its own administrative and legal concerns.
Trump’s decision was lauded by groups that have lobbied to reform US marijuana laws.
Tim Barash, the leader of the Coalition of Cannabis Scheduling Reform, said in a statement that it is a “remarkable change” in how marijuana is viewed both inside and outside the government.
“This shift will allow the 425,000 employees from the US cannabis industry to be better protected as they work to use products that help millions of people daily,” Mr Barash added.
But the reclassification order has run into some opposition from Republican lawmakers.
On Wednesday, 22 Republican Senators sent an open letter to the president saying that if they were allowed to smoke marijuana “we will not be able to re-industrialise America”.
The Senators raised remaining questions around the health issues of cannabis, and cited research that suggested “cannabis use can result in impaired judgement” and “loss of concentration”.
“Given the known public health risks of marijuana, it is counter-intuitive to invest in a drug that harms young people and endangers our communities,” the letter states.
At an August letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi Form State Representatives, nine Republican lawmakers said “no adequate science or data” recommends the switch.
“Marijuana, however, is not heroin; it does not carry the same addictive qualities. It may also be used under medical circumstances and therefore we ask that you consider reclassifying marijuana in a category for which it might become more accessible when prescribed by a physician,” they wrote to Obama. “That’s why rescheduling marijuana would be flat out wrong – it would send our kids the message that marijuana is fine. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
More generally, majorities of Americans in polls say they favour legalising marijuana.
One Gallup poll published in November revealed that 64% of Americans think cannabis ought to be legalised, though support had slackened a tad since previous years on account of Republicans being 13 points less keen.
