The Trump Administration this week delisted marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III controlled substance.
The Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research executive order was signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
“The facts compel the federal government to recognize that marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications when carefully administered. In some cases, this may include the use as a substitute for addictive and potentially lethal opioid painkillers,” Trump said in his order.
Marijuana, or cannabis, is currently classified as Schedule I Controlled Substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are classified as drugs that do not have any accepted medical uses, a classification that falls under the jurisdiction of the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Marijuana has been classified alongside heroin, methamphetamine and LSD since 1970. Since then, advocates have lobbied the government to reschedule it.
In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden Administration recommended putting cannabis on the Schedule III list.
According to the White House, HHS determined that medical marijuana has a currently accepted medical use. The HHS found more than 30,000 licensed healthcare professionals in 43 states are authorized to recommend marijuana to their patients to treat “at least” 15 medical conditions.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the marijuana-policy and advocacy group NORML, said, “The Administration’s order calling to remove the cannabis plant from its Schedule I classification validates the experiences of tens of millions of Americans, as well as those of tens of thousands of physicians, who have long recognized that cannabis possesses legitimate medical utility. It wasn’t long ago that federal officials were threatening to seize doctors’ medical licenses just for discussing medical cannabis with their patients. This directive certainly marks a long overdue change in direction.”
Citing the treatment of pain, anorexia-related conditions, and nausea caused by cancer therapy, the White House has now opened the door for more research into cannabis and its derivatives. There are at least 100 different tetrahydracannabinol and cannabidiol, THC and CBD, derivatives. Some experts suggest that there are more, but research into THC and CBD has been hindered due to its scheduling.
DEA and Food and Drug Administration-approved research is difficult to attain, as any research organization studying marijuana must have federal approval. Otherwise, research about marijuana is a federal offense.
Research into hemp and hemp derivatives is typically uncontrolled, as CBD isn’t psychoactive and in the eyes of the government doesn’t warrant the same kind of regulation. As long as the CBD doesn’t have %0.3 THC by weight, research into CBD is allowed.
In May 2024, the Department of Justice issued a proposed rule to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III. The proposed rule received nearly 43,000 public comments and is currently awaiting an administrative hearing.
“It is the policy of my Administration to increase medical marijuana and CBD research to better inform patients and doctors,” Trump’s executive order read. “It is critical to close the gap between current medical marijuana and CBD use and medical knowledge of risks and benefits, including for specific populations and conditions. Research methods and models should include real-world evidence and should facilitate affordable access in order to rapidly assess the health outcomes of medical marijuana and legal CBD products while focusing on long-term health effects in vulnerable populations like adolescents and young adults.”
Being in possession of Schedule I controlled substances often involves high fines and jail time. The executive order makes no note of any criminal reclassification or retroactive emancipation for people imprisoned for minor marijuana possession.
According to the Last Prisoner Program, there are at least 40,000 people incarcerated for simple possession of marijuana. Simple possession means they were arrested and charged for an amount that would not warrant distribution charges. Most of those arrested had an amount for personal use.
Studies conducted to survey how many people in the U.S. have been imprisoned for minor marijuana possession don’t take into account local county and jail numbers. More than 190,000 people were arrested by state and local police for marijuana possession in 2024, according to the FBI. Many secondary marijuana charges are not listed alongside other crimes.
The FBI reported 832,000 drug arrests in 2024 and of those, 205,000 were for marijuana. Of those, 188,000 were for possession while 16,000 were for sale or distribution.
Marijuana-related arrests peaked in 2007 under the Obama Administration; more than 800,000 were arrested that year.
According to NORML, from 1990 to 2024 there were more than 21 million marijuana related arrests in the U.S.
“Today’s announcement is a significant step toward aligning federal marijuana policy with science, evidence, and the realities on the ground in states across the country,” said Nina Patel, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union in a statement on Thursday.
“Congress must now pass the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act) to ensure justice for the people and communities harmed by the war on drugs. These federal bills would remove federal criminal penalties for marijuana, provide criminal history record clearing, and necessary investments in communities disproportionately targeted for criminalization. The ACLU will continue the fight to end unjust and punitive drug policies for everyone and the creation of a more perfect union for all.”
