The Trump administration has moved to reclassify cannabis, but only in pieces, creating more puzzles than solutions for a sector already navigating federal ambiguity.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order last week that shifted state-licensed medical cannabis products and future FDA-approved cannabis drugs from Schedule I, the most restrictive classification, down to Schedule III. That category includes regulated substances like certain opioid combinations and ketamine.
The problem: it is not a full reclassification. Products sold through recreational dispensaries remain Schedule I. And the FDA approval language only covers cannabis products that do not yet exist, leaving the handful of existing FDA-approved cannabis pharmaceuticals untouched.
Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance, called it "partial rescheduling, at best." She flagged another concern. "It appears to predetermine the scheduling outcome for future FDA-approved drugs containing marijuana without a full, evidence-based risk evaluation."
The administration justified the move by citing the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a 1961 UN treaty that restricts cannabis production to limited quantities for medical and scientific purposes. But Canada shows how messy this argument becomes in practice. Canadian cannabis is fully legal and regulated, despite the country's participation in the same treaty.
"The administration's announcement explained the split was for an expedited, legally compliant pathway," Packer said. "But in practice, it's made an already complex process more confusing."
Industry operators are seeing the confusion firsthand. Ryan Hunter, chief revenue officer at Colorado-based Spherex Labs, was blunt. "This is a very silly announcement. I can't imagine who thought this was a good idea."
Hunter pointed to an absurdity baked into the order. His company sells identical cannabis products through both medical and recreational channels, but the order treats them as fundamentally different commodities from a legal standpoint. A customer buying an ounce from the medical side faces different federal treatment than someone buying the exact same product from the recreational counter, even though the supply, facilities, and staff are the same.
Alex Gonzalez, co-founder of cannabis packaging company Calyx Containers, suspects timing was deliberate. "Trump's got a little bit of an agenda here. Midterms are coming up. He's getting some pressure from the voter base that he's trying to win over, particularly younger males." Gonzalez also noted that the replacement of former Attorney General Pam Bondi may have cleared the way. "Based on her history, she was not for cannabis. She was a blocker."
Despite the muddiness, industry figures acknowledge the symbolic weight. A federal signal, even a mixed one, from the highest levels of government marks a shift. For medical cannabis patients and operators, the order federally recognizes cannabis as legitimate medicine, potentially shielding users from criminal prosecution at that level.
The real-world impact remains uncertain. Packer warned that medical cannabis patients could still face discrimination in housing and employment. More starkly, the order's focus on medical cannabis, which requires DEA registration, will disproportionately benefit white entrepreneurs while leaving Black and Latino operators, who dominate the adult-use market due to earlier barriers to medical licensing, largely excluded from the policy's benefits.
Blanche announced that the DEA will hold a new administrative hearing for full rescheduling on June 29. Packer was skeptical. "Full rescheduling is far from guaranteed. Even if marijuana is ultimately rescheduled, it will still fall short of the will of the majority of Americans, who for over a decade have supported full legalization."
Author James Rodriguez: "The administration built a narrow lane and called it progress, but narrow lanes don't solve the fundamental contradiction between federal law and what most Americans want."
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