Trump Signs Order to Downgrade Classification of Marijuana

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to downgrade marijuana’s drug classification, bringing it to a lower rung that would allow it to be used for more research but would not affect how federal law enforcement handles drug arrests.

The order is one of the biggest changes to drug policy in the last few decades — and fulfils one of Trump’s campaign promises.

“I’ve never been inundated by so many people as I have about this particular reclassification,” the president said in the Oval Office, seated among top officials from the Department of Health and Human Services.

For years, marijuana was a Schedule 1 drug, on the same level as heroin, LSD, ecstasy and peyote. Now, marijuana will be a Schedule 3 drug, on the same level as some prescription pills, ketamine, some steroids and testosterone.

The executive order would also work to expand access to hemp-derived CBD products, after a provision in the reconciliation package Congress passed over the summer changed the legal status of certain hemp products, making them more difficult to access.

Republicans are split over rescheduling or legalizing marijuana, which a majority of Democrats back. Republican support for marijuana legalization has plummeted over the past year, from 53% in favor of legalization last year to 40% now, according to Gallup polling.

“This is an example of where the maybe populist strain in the Trump coalition is at odds with the more traditional conservative, social conservative, religious conservative, whatever you call it part of the party,” Patrick T. Brown, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, previously told NOTUS.

The White House and the president emphasized that this order isn’t about changing how the government handles marijuana arrests.

“The Schedule 3 change is not changing federal policy regarding that,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The president, who does not drink or do drugs, emphasized in his remarks that this move would not legalize marijuana but instead allow it to be studied.

“I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization, or it doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug — has nothing to do with it,” Trump said. “I’ve always told my children, ‘Don’t take drugs.’ No drinking, no smoking, and just stay away from drugs.”

The president’s efforts come after the Biden administration moved to take action. In 2022, then-President Joe Biden asked HHS to review marijuana’s classification. That department eventually suggested marijuana be moved to Schedule 3 but it never took effect during Biden’s time in office.

Some of Trump’s Republican allies were skeptical or opposed to the president’s order.

“I’m concerned that marijuana is more dangerous than people say it is, and medical marijuana has a lot of potential. I’m very open to that,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said. “But the reclassification: I’ve heard from people in the drug business, rehab business, heard from law enforcement people — not a big fan of that.”

Sen. Rick Scott, who told reporters that his brother died from a drug overdose, said he was not at all supportive.

“I am against it,” he said. “I think it’s a gateway drug. My brother died of drugs, so I’m completely against that.”