President Donald Trump is not only “looking at” reclassifying cannabis to a Schedule III substance: He’s now “considering” it, too.
Trump told media members on Dec. 15 that, yes, it is indeed accurate that he’s considering an executive order to loosen the restrictions on the plant under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
His remarks come four months after he told reporters that “we’re only looking at that” and his administration would decide on the matter “over the next few weeks.”
Although this latest development took four months, Trump remained noncommittal on Monday.
“We are considering it, because a lot of people want to see it – the reclassification – because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify, so we are looking at that very strongly,” he said.
Although removing cannabis from a Schedule I listing would mean that the federal government recognizes the plant as having “currently accepted medical use” in the U.S., many cannabis industry stakeholders argue it would not unlock certain barriers to research: The approval process to conduct clinical trials would remain “unduly onerous,” according to cannabis reform group NORML.
However, rescheduling cannabis would allow the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to finance or sponsor research, something that federal restrictions currently prevent the executive branch from doing under its Schedule I status.
The president’s comments on Monday addressed the issue publicly after reports surfaced last week that he held a private meeting on Dec. 10 in the Oval Office to discuss a potential executive order with cannabis industry executives, as well as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz, as first reported by The Washington Post.
Despite U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., opposing the plan when Trump phoned him into the meeting, the president ended the gathering ready to move forward on reform, according to The Washington Post, which reported that he “is expected” to issue an executive order directing top officials in his cabinet to reclassify cannabis, but that he hadn’t finalized a decision.
A possible directive for U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi to remove cannabis from a Schedule I listing, where it sits alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy as drugs with the highest potential for abuse, would go further than any president has gone before on cannabis reform.
Although former President Joe Biden directed his cabinet in October 2022 to review how cannabis is scheduled under the CSA, he never issued an order from the top urging his administration to actually do so. While Biden’s U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommended a Schedule III reclassification after conducting a scientific and medical evaluation, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) never got on board.
Instead of former DEA Administrator Anne Milgram following through on the HHS recommendation, it was then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland – as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) – who signed a notice of proposed rulemaking in May 2024. Some viewed this as the DEA’s “hostility” toward rescheduling.
Instead of fast-tracking the rescheduling process to a final rule, Milgram granted an administrative law judge hearing to allow pro- and anti-rescheduling parties to debate the merits of the DOJ’s proposal. When pro-rescheduling parties accused the DEA of conducting ex parte communications with anti-rescheduling parties, the administrative law judge overseeing the hearing granted an interlocutory appeal in early January that sidelined the entire process.
Documents filed in a lawsuit the following month confirmed the improper communications: The DEA sent “cure letters” to several anti-rescheduling entities, providing them the opportunity to submit supplemental information showing that they met the “interested person” status under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to participate in the hearing process.
While Biden allowed this rescheduling process to be derailed under his watch, the possibility of an executive order from Trump could pave a different pathway under the current administration.
Should Trump direct Bondi to reschedule cannabis, the head of the DOJ could do so. Within the executive branch, the CSA “vests” the attorney general with the authority to “schedule, reschedule or decontrol drugs” (21 U.S.C. 811(a)). While the attorney general has traditionally delegated this authority to the DEA, legal experts argue that the attorney general holds the power to reclaim this authority and unilaterally issue a final rule on cannabis rescheduling.
This means DEA Administrator Terrance Cole – regardless of his position on cannabis – could be an inconsequential factor should Trump issue an executive order. However, the public has yet to know what a potential executive order might entail, as Trump has not made a final decision on the matter.
Speculation that Trump might fast-track the rescheduling process could backfire on reform hopefuls. The president could also direct his HHS to start from square one with a new scientific and medical evaluation.
All that Trump has publicly said in response to last week’s media reports is that he’s “considering” an executive order.
