Trump administration moves to reclassify marijuana to Schedule III

The Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Trump’s acting attorney general signed the order on Thursday, more than four months after Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III.

The schedule I classification meant marijuana was alongside heroin, LSD, MDMA and synthetic opioids, whereas a schedule III classification put it in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone. The order moves marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, putting state-licensed medical marijuana in the same category as some pain medications, ketamine and testosterone.

“These actions will enable more targeted, rigorous research into marijuana’s safety and efficacy, expanding patients’ access to treatments and empowering doctors to make better-informed healthcare decisions,” the acting attorney general said in a post on X.

Notably, rescheduling will not immediately legalize marijuana or affect the sentences of those incarcerated for possession. It also does not immediately mean full legalization, and it will still be subject to business banking restrictions, in part due to continuing risks under anti-money laundering laws. It is generally illegal to transport schedule III drugs across state lines without authorization, so reclassification would not necessarily allow producers to transport across state lines.

The move comes mere days after Trump signed an executive order to speed a review of psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, found in the root bark of a west African shrub, which also sits in the top category of illegal drugs with a high propensity for abuse. At the signing of the psychedelic drug order, Trump complained that federal officials were “slow-walking” the process of rescheduling marijuana.

Opponents of the move argue it gives an advantage to the cannabis industry and raises public safety concerns. One opponent said current medical marijuana products “have not been looked at by the FDA” and argued, “We’ve never had a drug that has not passed FDA approval as a Schedule 3.”

The change in scheduling will also ease regulatory and tax burdens. Marijuana is currently legal in some form in 40 US states. Marijuana-legal states have built huge surpluses of the drug, leading to a crash in wholesale prices known as the “ganja glut”.

Most Americans support relaxing restrictions on marijuana. A poll released this month by YouGov found 84% of respondents either “strongly support” or “somewhat support” legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, while 9% “strongly oppose” or “somewhat oppose” the move. While figures were notably lower for recreational legalization, it still garnered 50% of respondents who said they “strongly support” or “somewhat support” the move, while 33% “strongly oppose” or “somewhat oppose.”