Trump administration designates medical marijuana as a lower-risk drug

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order Thursday reclassifying state-sanctioned medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a victory for pro-cannabis groups who have sought to expand research and further ease the stigma against pot smokers.

The order moves the designation of authorized medical marijuana from Schedule I, which is reserved for drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, to the less strictly regulated Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

Medical or recreational use of marijuana is not federally legal under this action. It does, however, provide tax relief to licensed medical marijuana operators and ease some barriers to drug research, in part by easing penalties for cannabis researchers who obtain state-licensed marijuana or marijuana-derived products for use in their work.

“The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s promise to expand Americans’ access to medical treatment options,” Blanche said in a statement. “This reprogramming action enables research into the safety and effectiveness of this substance, providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information.”

“These actions will enable more targeted and rigorous research into the safety and effectiveness of marijuana, expanding patient access to treatments and allowing doctors to make more informed health care decisions,” he said.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for Marijuana Law Reform, said the decision constitutes a “historic shift” in federal policy as well as the federal government’s attitude when it comes to the question of not only the usefulness of medical cannabis, but also the legitimacy of state-regulated access.

“The federal government has been hostile to the existence of these programs and has vehemently denied that cannabis has any legitimate therapeutic use,” he told the Washington Times, adding that he had made a 180-degree turn from that position.

Mr. Armentano said the administration was seeking to “integrate this state-authorized medical marijuana into the federal regulatory system to oversee controlled substances.”

Smart Approaches to Marijuana called the reclassification “an illegal move to ignore procedural requirements and reschedule marijuana” without complying with federal law, threatening legal action “immediately.”

“The only thing today’s decision advances is the interests of a for-profit drug industry – and if the President isn’t going to use the Food and Drug Administration as required by law, why doesn’t he just abolish it?” SAM CEO Kevin Sabet said in a statement.

The organization added that it has learned that President Trump is urging Congress to overturn the federal ban on hemp-based intoxicants, mirroring his previous executive order on marijuana.

Mr. Trump previously ordered federal agencies to work quickly to ease restrictions on marijuana and CBD research in December. Over the weekend, he expressed frustration with the slow pace of the effort.

The ruling also launches an expedited administrative hearing process to consider a broader rescheduling of marijuana status, scheduled for June 29.

The Biden administration launched efforts to reschedule marijuana in 2024, and the Drug Enforcement Administration was still under review when Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January.

Now, the DEA is withdrawing the notice of hearing due to a legal impasse and ending these proceedings to “move more efficiently” toward the drug’s redesignation, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Schedule I substances include heroin, ecstasy and other drugs, while those in Schedule III include ketamine, Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.

The nontraditional approach to this process can raise many questions, Armentano said.

If the Trump administration decided to designate marijuana as a Schedule III substance, it would not make it legal under federal law. But it would leave a wide variety of secondary impacts, from tax deductions for marijuana companies to potential changes in restrictions on marijuana users obtaining firearms and qualifying for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s rental assistance programs.