President Donald Trump confirmed Monday that his administration is actively weighing whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, signaling a potential policy shift that could have sweeping legal and economic implications.
Speaking at a White House press conference—originally called to announce a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police force and deployment of the National Guard—Trump told reporters that the review process is still in its early stages but could conclude soon.
“We’re looking at reclassification and we’ll make a determination over the next—I would say over the next few weeks,” Trump said. “Hopefully it will be the right one. It’s a very complicated subject.”
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Monday that Trump is considering moving marijuana from a Schedule 1 controlled substance to Schedule 3. Under current law, Schedule 1 drugs, which also include heroin and LSD, are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule 3 drugs, by contrast, are deemed to have moderate to low potential for dependence and include ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.
Such a change would align with a late-stage Biden administration recommendation, which the Drug Enforcement Administration signaled support for last year. Reclassification would not make marijuana legal under federal law, but it would ease restrictions on research, reduce certain criminal penalties, and allow cannabis businesses to claim tax deductions currently prohibited for Schedule 1 substances.
When asked whether reclassification might conflict with his administration’s stated efforts to “clean up” crime in Washington and other cities, Trump said he has heard mixed feedback about 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,” he said. “For pain and various things, some people like it, some people hate it.”
The potential shift comes amid ongoing tension between federal prohibition and state legalization, as more than half of U.S. states now allow recreational or medical marijuana use. A final decision from the administration could come before the end of the month.
Read the whole article from ABC News here.
