Now
78°
Fri
74°
Sat
81°
by ALEXX ALTMAN-DEVILBISS | The National News Desk
WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump's acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, shifting it from Schedule I to the less strictly regulated Schedule III.
Todd Blanche announced the move on social media and also said the administration is jump-starting the broader reclassification process, with a hearing set for June 29. Schedule I is reserved for drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
"These actions will enable more targeted, rigorous research into marijuana's safety and efficacy, expanding patients' access to treatments and empowering doctors to make better-informed healthcare decisions," Blanche wrote on X.
Blanche’s action largely legitimizes medical marijuana programs in the 40 states that have adopted them. It also creates an expedited system for state-licensed producers and distributors to register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The order makes clear that researchers won’t be penalized for obtaining state-licensed cannabis or cannabis-derived products for their work. It also grants companies a financial boost by allowing them, for the first time, to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes.
Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, called it “the most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years."
Kevin Sabet, chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, criticized the move, saying in a text to The Associated Press that “we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history.”
“Policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction,” Sabet added.
Trump signed an executive order in December reclassifying marijuana, clarifying that he wasn't legalizing the drug.
Separately, on Saturday, the president signed an executive order directing federal regulators to accelerate the review of certain psychedelic drugs for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries in military veterans.
_____
Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.