*President Donald Trump took a significant step in federal drug policy on Thursday by signing an executive order aimed at changing how marijuana is classified under U.S. law. The action directs the federal government to move the drug from its current status to a less restrictive category.
Speaking from the Oval Office, the president framed the decision as a response to widespread appeals from patients and medical advocates. “Today I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, with legitimate medical uses,” Trump said, CBS News reports. “We have people begging for me to do this. People who are in great pain.”
He said the issue generated unusually strong feedback compared to other policy matters. “I think I probably have received more phone calls on this, on doing what we’re doing — I don’t think I received any calls on the other side of it,” Trump added.
The executive order directs the Attorney General to “take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process” for reclassifying marijuana, doing so as quickly as possible under federal law. According to DEA guidelines, Schedule I substances are those with no accepted medical use and a high risk of abuse; examples include heroin, LSD, and MDMA (ecstasy). In comparison, Schedule III drugs carry a moderate to low risk of physical or psychological dependence. This category includes medications like codeine combined with acetaminophen (Tylenol with codeine), testosterone, anabolic steroids, and ketamine.
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Trump said the decision reflected years of advocacy from patients dealing with serious health conditions. “For decades, this action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems and more,” he said.
The order does not legalize recreational marijuana federally. However, moving cannabis to Schedule III could ease restrictions on scientific and medical research while potentially allowing state-licensed cannabis businesses to claim ordinary business deductions currently barred for Schedule I substances under federal tax law.
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