Trump signs executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less
dangerous drug
[December 19, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and BILL BARROW
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order
Thursday that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug and
open new avenues for medical research, a major shift in federal drug
policy that inches closer to what many states have done.
The switch would move marijuana away from its current classification as
a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. Cannabis would instead be a
Schedule III substance, like ketamine and some anabolic steroids.
Reclassification by the Drug Enforcement Administration would not make
it legal for recreational use by adults nationwide, but it could change
how the drug is regulated and reduce a hefty tax burden on the cannabis
industry.
The Republican president said he had received a deluge of phone calls
supporting the move and its potential to help patients. “We have people
begging for me to do this. People that are in great pain,” he said.
Medical marijuana is now allowed by 40 states and Washington, D.C., and
many states have also legalized it for recreational use. But U.S. laws
have remained stricter, potentially leaving people subject to federal
prosecution.
The Justice Department under Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden,
previously proposed reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III substance.
Unlike Biden, Trump did not have open encouragement from across his
party for the move. Some Republicans have spoken out in opposition to
any changes and urged Trump to maintain current standards.
Such a switch typically requires an arduous process, including a public
comment period that has drawn tens of thousands of reactions from across
the U.S. The DEA was still in the review process when Trump took office
in January. Trump ordered that process to move along as quickly as
legally possible, though an exact timeline remained unclear.
Polling from Gallup shows Americans largely back a less restrictive
approach: Support for marijuana legalization has grown from just 36% in
2005 to 64% this year. Yet that’s down slightly from a couple of years
ago, primarily because of declining support among Republicans, Gallup
said.
Trump’s order also calls for expanded research and access to CBD, a
legal and increasingly popular hemp-derived product whose benefits to
treat things like pain, anxiety and sleep issues are debated by experts.
A new Medicare pilot program would allow older adults to access legal
hemp-derived CBD at no cost, if recommended by a doctor, said Dr. Mehmet
Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Still, the marijuana changes are not universally welcomed. More than 20
Republican senators, several of them staunch Trump allies, signed a
letter this year urging the president to keep marijuana a Schedule I
drug.
Led by North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, the group argued that marijuana
continues to be dangerous and that a shift would “undermine your strong
efforts to Make America Great Again.” They argued, too, that marijuana
negatively affects users' physical and mental health, as well as road
and workplace safety.
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President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing in
the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
 “The only winners from rescheduling
will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be
left paying the bill,” the letter said, referring to China's place
in the cannabis market.
In the early days of the second Trump administration, the Justice
Department showed little interest in discussing marijuana
rescheduling, which had encountered strong resistance from inside
the DEA under Biden, according to a former U.S. official who spoke
on the condition of anonymity in an effort to avoid retaliation.
Trump has made his crusade against other drugs, especially fentanyl,
a feature of his second term, ordering U.S. military attacks on
Venezuelan and other boats the administration insists are ferrying
drugs. He signed another executive order declaring fentanyl a weapon
of mass destruction.
Jack Riley, a former deputy administrator of the DEA, backed the
focus on the drug war as a national security priority, but said
marijuana rescheduling sends a conflicting message.
“He’s blowing up boats in Latin America that he says are full of
fentanyl and cocaine but on the other hand loosening the
restrictions that will allow wider exposure to a first-level drug,”
said Riley, who was in the running to lead the DEA upon Trump’s
return to the White House. “That is clearly a contradiction.”
Opponents like the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana vowed to sue
if the reclassification goes through.
On the other end of the spectrum, some pro-marijuana advocates want
to see the government go further and treat cannabis more like
alcohol. Trump hasn't committed to bigger steps like decriminalizing
marijuana, and said Thursday that he encouraged his own children not
to use drugs.
Still, he said “the facts compel" the government to recognize that
marijuana can have legitimate medical applications. And it has
become a part of the health care environment in many states.
Currently, 30,000 licensed health care practitioners are authorized
to recommend its use for more than 6 million patients for at least
15 medical conditions, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services found.
The Food and Drug Administration has found credible scientific
support for its use to treat anorexia-related medical conditions,
nausea, vomiting and pain. Older adults, in particular, are using it
for chronic pain, which afflicts 1 in 3 from that age group.
___
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Seung Min
Kim, Laura Ungar in Louisville, Ky., and Josh Goodman in Miami
contributed to this report.
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