Trump signs executive order fast-tracking reclassification of marijuana

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to speed up the process. reclassification of cannabiswhich would pave the way for the Food and Drug Administration to study its medical use.

“It is my administration’s policy to expand research on medical marijuana and CBD to better inform patients and physicians. It is critical to close the gap between the current use of medical marijuana and CBD and medical knowledge about the risks and benefits.” the order says.

Before signing the directive in the Oval Office, Trump said it was “really a matter of common sense.”

The order is not made cannabis is legal across the country, he said.

“It does not in any way legalize marijuana or in any way sanction its use as a recreational drug,” he said, adding that the order is aimed at helping people struggling with chronic pain.

Trump also said he would not be willing to legalize cannabis for recreational use. “Recreational use of potent controlled substances is never safe,” he said. “So unless a drug is recommended by your doctor for medical reasons, just don't take it,” he said.

Currently, cannabis is classified in the same category as heroin, ecstasy and LSD under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Trump's order orders it to be reclassified as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Drug Enforcement Administration as a drug “with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”

Other examples of Schedule III drugs are Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, and testosterone.

The executive order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi complete the formal reclassification process, which has been ongoing for over a year, and begin publishing a final rule that will reclassify cannabis.

Changing the classification to Schedule III would ease regulatory hurdles and allow the FDA to study the medical uses of cannabis, potentially opening it up for wider medical use by seniors, veterans and others as a pharmaceutical, regardless of state laws.

The purpose of the order, a senior administration official said before signing, is to “remove barriers to research” and “begin working to improve research on medical marijuana and CBD to better inform patients and doctors. That's the main goal.”

The Order also specifically addresses CBD – cannabidiol — which is derived from hemp plants and does not in itself cause a high. He directs the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Policy and Public Affairs to work with Congress to allow people in the U.S. to benefit from access to CBD products while limiting the sale and access of products that pose serious health risks, an administration official said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., an outspoken Trump critic, called the move “a step in the right direction.” by X but added that “more work needs to be done to decriminalize cannabis, loosen overly restrictive banking rules that are holding back the industry's progress in states where it is legal, and undo the harm caused by the War on Drugs.”

According to November Gallup Poll64% of US adults believe marijuana use should be legal.