Trump considers reclassifying marijuana as a less-dangerous drug

President Donald Trump is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a move that would impact national drug policy.

The move would not legalize marijuana nationally, but it would ease regulations on the drug and potentially create tax savings for businesses licensed to sell marijuana, the Associated Press reported, as well as make it easier to do research on the drug.

Marijuana is currently considered a Schedule I drug; the Wall Street Journal reports that the administration is considering changing it to a Schedule III drug.

According to the DEA website, Schedule I drugs are ones that have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Marijuana is currently in this classification along with heroin, ecstasy and LSD.

Schedule III drugs have “a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence,” according to the DEA, and include ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.

“We’re looking at it. Some people like it, some people hate it,” the president said in a press briefing shown on C-Span.

“We’ll make a determination over the next few weeks, and that determination hopefully will be the right one. It’s a very complicated subject, the subject of marijuana. I’ve heard great things having to do with medical, and I’ve heard bad things having to do with just about everything else.”

Steps were taken toward reclassification of the drug last year under the Biden administration, but the process was not finished before Biden left office, The Hill reported.

Medical marijuana use is already legal in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for adults, according to the Associated Press.

A 2021 law signed by then Gov. Andrew Cuomo legalized recreational marijuana use by adults in New York state, although it took a while for the state’s cannabis industry to get off the ground.