The U.S. administration may reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous drug as early as Wednesday, April 22, Axios reported, citing an official familiar with the matter. This would be the biggest change in federal marijuana policy in over 50 years. What would that do to Florida’s marijuana laws?
Nothing, at least not right away. But destigmatizing the drug could make legalization of recreational marijuana more of a possibility in the future.
In December, President Donald Trump ordered the loosening of federal regulations on marijuana so it could be federally reclassified as a less dangerous substance, a process started under former President Joe Biden.
“We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain,” Trump said at a signing event in the Oval Office. “For decades, this action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems, and more.”
What does that mean, exactly? Will weed be legal?
Don’t fire up anything just yet.
Since 1970, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug, which is completely prohibited for use. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) describes Schedule I drugs as having no “medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Other drugs in that classification include heroin and LSD.
If marijuana is reclassified as a Schedule III drug, it will be placed in the same category as common painkillers, some anabolic steroids, ketamine and testosterone.
The reclassification would also relax restrictions on scientific testing and could save marijuana companies millions in taxes in states where recreational and/or medical marijuana is legal. The change also could potentially have a bearing on future legalization efforts by shifting public perception toward cannabis.
“It is the policy of my Administration to increase medical marijuana and CBD research to better inform patients and doctors,” Trump said in his executive order.
No. Even if marijuana is reclassified, it still wouldn’t become legal as far as the federal government or the state of Florida is concerned.
The president stressed that the December order “does not legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug.”
The DEA classifies drugs based on their medical usefulness and their potential for abuse or dependency. The categories are:
In the EO, Trump said that a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found “scientific support for its use to treat anorexia related to a medical condition, nausea and vomiting, and pain.”
That review came after Biden called for it in his 2024 State of The Union address with an eye toward reclassification. The Department of Health and Human Services recommended that year that marijuana be reclassified based on widespread use of medical marijuana across 43 U.S. jurisdictions for more than 6 million registered patients to treat at least 15 medical conditions, the EO said.
In 2024, the DEA proposed a rule to reclassify the drug, but that rule change has been on hold since March 2025.
Still no.
During the 2024 General Election, an amendment that called for legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida fell just shy of the 60% of votes needed to pass. Efforts to put the amendment on this November’s ballot fell short after the state challenged hundreds of thousands of petitions gathered for the ballot drive.
Medical marijuana is legal in Florida for residents diagnosed with a specific set of conditions who have applied for and received a Medical Marijuana ID Card or caregivers who have received a Medical Marijuana Caregiver Card.
The conditions are:
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.