Trump Considers Reclassifying Marijuana as Lower-Risk Drug

President Donald Trump has once again signaled his willingness to take meaningful action on marijuana reform, telling reporters on Monday that his team is actively considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous substance under federal law.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he is reviewing a possible executive order that would move marijuana from its current Schedule I classification alongside heroin and ecstasy to the more moderate Schedule III tier, which includes substances like codeine, ketamine, and testosterone.

"We are considering that. A lot of people want to see it, the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify," Trump said. "So we are looking at that very strongly."

Here’s what that means:

• Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning the federal government views it as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse despite legalization in over 40 states for medical purposes.

• Reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III would still keep it federally controlled, but would open the door for serious medical research, lower tax burdens on cannabis businesses, and make it easier to access financing.

• It’s a major shift that would boost the $30+ billion cannabis industry, which currently faces enormous regulatory and financial barriers due to federal restrictions.

The move would not equate to federal legalization or decriminalization, but it’s still a significant change. Currently, businesses in the cannabis industry face sky-high taxes because Schedule I status blocks them from claiming standard tax deductions. Reclassifying could change that, giving American businesses room to grow something Democrats have long promised but failed to deliver.

Critics, unsurprisingly, are already attempting to spin the announcement. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) lashed out, accusing Trump of “gaslighting” the public, claiming this was some kind of PR stunt to “boost his pathetic approval ratings.” But this kind of hyperventilating misses the mark.

Trump isn’t pretending to legalize marijuana he’s talking about cutting red tape, empowering legitimate business, and allowing researchers to finally study the plant without federal roadblocks. That’s not gaslighting. That’s leadership.

Compare that to the Biden administration, which talked about reform for years and then did nothing. Despite holding the White House and the Senate for the first two years of his presidency, Biden failed to act on marijuana rescheduling even though public support for reform remains sky-high. According to Pew Research, 88% of Americans believe marijuana should be legal for either medical or recreational use.

And while Democrats have introduced countless bills with catchy acronyms to decriminalize or deschedule marijuana, not a single one has made it to the president’s desk.

Meanwhile, Trump is once again proving he understands what Americans want: freedom to choose, support for small businesses, and common-sense reform that cuts through bureaucracy.

It’s not hard to see why cannabis stocks jumped at the news. Investors and voters are betting on the one man who actually gets things done.

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