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President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general signed an order Thursday that reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and a statement issued by Todd Blanche. The administration framed the move as a major shift away from federal treatment of cannabis as a drug reserved for substances with no medical use and high potential for abuse.
Blanche signed the order while the Trump administration said it was also jump-starting a separate, broader process for reclassifying marijuana beyond medical programs. The order, as described by the Justice Department, changes federal handling of licensed medical cannabis but stops short of authorizing marijuana use for medical or recreational purposes under federal law.
Under the order, licensed medical marijuana programs would move from Schedule I to Schedule III, which the administration said is less strictly regulated. The department said it would also allow licensed medical marijuana operators to receive a “major tax break” by enabling them, for the first time, to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes. It further said the change would ease barriers to researching cannabis.
In remarks tied to the scheduling shift, Blanche said in a statement that the action was “delivering on President Trump’s promise” to expand Americans’ access to medical treatment options. He added that the rescheduling would allow for research on “the safety and efficacy of this substance,” which he said would ultimately provide patients with better care and doctors with “more reliable information.”
The administration said the rescheduling order does not legalize marijuana outside the structure of state-licensed medical programs and that marijuana or marijuana-derived products not distributed through a state medical marijuana program would continue to be classified in Schedule I. The department also said any marijuana-derived medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration would similarly be listed in Schedule III.
The order, the Justice Department said, would largely legitimize medical marijuana programs in the roughly 40 states that have adopted them by setting up an expedited system for state-licensed medical marijuana producers and distributors to register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The administration said it also makes clear that cannabis researchers would not be penalized for obtaining state-licensed marijuana or marijuana-derived products for use in their work, a change advocates have sought as federal enforcement priorities have been tightened and loosened over the years.
Advocates welcomed the move, and Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, called it “the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years.” In a written statement, Bronstein said the action recognized what “Americans have long known” — that cannabis is medicine.
Critics said the shift would benefit the cannabis industry at the public’s expense. Kevin Sabet, chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, derided the administration’s decision, saying in a text message that research is necessary but that there are “many ways to increase our knowledge without giving a tax break to Big Weed.” Sabet also criticized what he described as a confusing message about marijuana’s harms, and said “Policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction.”
The announcement came after Congress since 2015 has prohibited the Justice Department from using its resources to shut down state-licensed medical marijuana systems, the AP story noted. The department nonetheless has continued to classify marijuana federally as prohibited, a legal posture that dates back to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, according to the report. The Justice Department under President Joe Biden had proposed rescheduling and drew nearly 43,000 formal public comments, but the DEA was still reviewing the proposal when Trump took office.
Blanche’s order, the report said, sidestepped the previous review process by relying on a provision of federal law that allows the attorney general to determine the appropriate classification for drugs the U.S. must regulate pursuant to an international treaty. It was unclear how the change might affect states where licensed recreational marijuana shops also sell to medical patients, the report said, citing Washington as an example in which some stores have endorsements allowing sales to registered patients.
The rescheduling order adds to a wider pattern of Trump administration actions involving drug enforcement and reviews, including a separate executive order signed on Saturday about psychedelics. Trump has also said his administration should act quickly to reclassify marijuana, and the report described the president as showing frustration earlier that the process was taking too long.
One additional change in the Justice Department’s approach is that the administration said it is scheduling a hearing to begin in late June as part of the broader process for reclassifying marijuana more broadly. For now, the order affects federally licensed handling for state medical programs rather than creating federal permission for recreational or medical marijuana use nationwide.