The Trump administration is preparing federal agencies to soon ease federal restrictions on cannabis. According to reporting from The Washington Post, the White House plans to move cannabis to Schedule III under U.S. drug law, marking a significant shift from its current Schedule I status.
At the moment, cannabis is classified at the federal level in the same category as heroin. A move to Schedule III would place it in a lower-risk category alongside some common prescription painkillers.
Several paths are under discussion
According to the report, the administration is considering several ways to carry out the change. One option is for the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, to announce a new administrative process, which is a required step in rescheduling. Another possible route is for acting attorney general Todd Blanche to directly announce that cannabis has been moved to a lower-risk category and that states will be responsible for licensing.
At the same time, the sources cited in the article stressed that the plans remain under discussion and could still change.
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Trump reportedly frustrated by the pace
The background to the move is that Donald Trump in December signed an executive order aimed at expanding medical cannabis research and making CBD more available. At the same time, he emphasized that the order did not amount to federal decriminalization.
According to the article, there has been little public action on rescheduling since then, frustrating both advocates and figures inside the White House. Over the weekend, Trump also publicly signaled frustration with the pace of the process and called for faster movement on rescheduling.
It remains unclear, however, whether his comments referred only to cannabis or also to other substances, since the remarks came during broader discussions about easing restrictions on psychedelics.
The Biden administration’s process stalled
The question of moving cannabis to Schedule III is not new. In 2024, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department formally recommended rescheduling cannabis, but the process stalled because of legal disputes and a pending DEA administrative hearing.
According to The Washington Post, the Trump administration is now considering ending that earlier process and restarting the effort in order to accelerate a decision.
Experts warn the process still has to be followed
Critics and drug policy experts argue that federal agencies still have to complete public health and safety reviews before a rescheduling can be properly carried out. In their view, political pressure for speed does not remove the agencies’ legal obligation to follow the required process.
The cannabis debate also remains politically sensitive in the United States. The poll cited in the article found that a majority of Americans support loosening restrictions, although support has softened somewhat compared with earlier years, especially among Republicans.
Could have major consequences for the U.S. cannabis market
Cannabis companies’ stocks surged after reports of an imminent rescheduling in the United States. On Wednesday, Canopy Growth rose 23 percent and Tilray gained 15 percent in the initial market reaction, according to Reuters. At the close, several stocks finished even higher, with Curaleaf up 26.3 percent, Canopy Growth up 21.1 percent, and Tilray up 14.2 percent, while the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS) climbed 19.4 percent.
A move to Schedule III would not mean that cannabis becomes federally legal in the United States. It could, however, have major practical consequences for research, medical use, and businesses operating in states where cannabis is already permitted for medical or adult use.
For the cannabis sector, a rescheduling would also be seen as an important symbolic step. It would signal that the federal government’s view of cannabis is changing, even if a fully legal federal market remains further away.
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