The Trump administration has formally reclassified marijuana from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, fulfilling a promise made by Donald Trump through executive order more than four months earlier.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the reclassification order on Thursday, announcing the move as a step toward expanding medical research and patient access. "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," Blanche said on social media.
The shift marks a significant change in how the federal government treats the drug. Previously grouped with heroin, LSD, and MDMA in the most restrictive classification, marijuana now sits alongside ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone in schedule III, a category still subject to tight regulation but with lower abuse potential.
Trump had publicly pressed his administration to complete the reclassification, even complaining that federal officials were "slow-walking" the process. At a recent signing event for an executive order reviewing psychedelic drugs, Trump directly appealed to unnamed staff members to finalize the marijuana rescheduling.
The reclassification does not immediately legalize marijuana nationwide or reduce sentences for those already incarcerated on possession charges. It also does not resolve banking restrictions tied to federal money laundering laws, and transporting the drug across state lines without authorization remains illegal. The change primarily opens pathways for expanded medical research and could ease some regulatory hurdles.
Marijuana is already legal in some form in 40 U.S. states, creating what industry observers call a "ganja glut" in many markets, where oversupply has crashed wholesale prices. The federal reclassification may not immediately solve these interstate commerce problems.
The timing of the move reflects political considerations. Republican operative Roger Stone recently emphasized the importance of reclassification before midterm elections, pointing to its appeal among young voters and libertarian-leaning Republicans. Stone accused someone in the administration of blocking the process before Blanche took office.
Blanche replaced Pam Bondi, who was fired three weeks earlier. Bondi had opposed marijuana reform when serving as Florida's attorney general. During his confirmation hearings for deputy attorney general, Blanche said he would weigh reclassification carefully after consulting with stakeholders, including the DEA.
Public support for marijuana legalization stands at 53% among American adults, according to an Economist/YouGov poll from this month, though enthusiasm has softened since widespread legalization in many states. A survey by NuggMD, a cannabis telehealth platform, found 83% of respondents supported Trump's reclassification order.
Author James Rodriguez: "The real test isn't the reclassification itself, it's whether this actually unties researchers' hands or just rearranges bureaucratic boxes while state and federal cannabis markets stay fundamentally fractured."
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