President Donald Trump's acting attorney general signed an order Thursday reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, marking the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years.
The order signed by Todd Blanche shifts licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I — reserved for drugs with no medical use and high abuse potential — to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law, but it does grant state-licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases barriers to researching cannabis.
The Justice Department action largely legitimizes medical marijuana programs in the 40 states that have adopted them. It establishes an expedited system for state-licensed producers and distributors to register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and makes clear that cannabis researchers won't be penalized for obtaining state-licensed marijuana for their work.
The Trump administration said it was also jump-starting the process for reclassifying marijuana more broadly, with a hearing scheduled to begin in late June. Trump had told his administration in December to work as quickly as possible to reclassify marijuana.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates and legalization supporters have long argued that marijuana should never have been classified alongside heroin in Schedule I. The American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp called Thursday's action the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years.
"This action recognizes what Americans have long known, cannabis is medicine," said Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, in a written statement.
Blanche noted that 40 states now maintain comprehensive licensing frameworks governing cultivation, processing, distribution, and dispensing of marijuana for medical purposes. He wrote that these programs "demonstrate a sustained capacity to achieve the public-interest objectives... including protecting public health and safety and preventing the diversion of controlled substances into illicit channels."
The Justice Department under President Joe Biden had proposed to reclassify marijuana, eliciting nearly 43,000 formal public comments. The DEA was still in the review process when Trump succeeded Biden and ordered it to move along as quickly as legally possible.
What the Right Is Saying
The order drew criticism from some Republicans who have opposed loosening marijuana restrictions. More than 20 Republican senators, several of them staunch Trump allies, signed a letter last year urging the president to keep current standards.
Kevin Sabet, chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana and a vocal opponent of legalization, called the order "a tax break to Big Weed."
"There are many ways to increase our knowledge without giving a tax break to Big Weed and sending a confusing message about marijuana's harms to the American public," Sabet said in a text message. "With this move, we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history."
Sabet argued that "policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction." Some critics have suggested that legalization in the states has led to stronger cannabis products, requiring more research rather than less strict categorization.
Marijuana or marijuana-derived products not distributed through a state medical marijuana program will continue to be classified in Schedule I.
What the Numbers Show
Forty states have medical marijuana systems, representing a broad majority of the country. Twenty-four states plus Washington, D.C., have authorized adult recreational use of marijuana.
Eight additional states allow low-THC cannabis or CBD oil for medical use. Only Idaho and Kansas ban marijuana outright.
In Washington state, which legalized adult use in 2012, 302 of 460 licensed stores have endorsements allowing them to sell tax-free cannabis products to registered medical patients.
Schedule III drugs are defined as having moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, a significant downgrade from Schedule I's high abuse potential classification.
The Biden administration's reclassification proposal had drawn nearly 43,000 formal public comments during the DEA review process.
The Bottom Line
Thursday's order represents a major shift in federal marijuana policy while stopping short of full legalization. State-licensed medical marijuana operators will now receive tax breaks previously unavailable to them, and researchers will face fewer obstacles in studying cannabis.
The administration is moving quickly on broader reclassification, with a hearing set for late June. How the order affects states where licensed recreational shops also serve medical patients remains unclear and could create regulatory complications.
The divide between federal policy and state laws — which have moved toward various forms of legalization over nearly three decades — narrows somewhat with this action, though marijuana remains illegal at the federal level for most purposes. The coming months will determine whether broader reclassification follows and how the medical marijuana framework interacts with existing state recreational markets.