Trump says he's looking at reclassifying marijuana at federal level [View all]

Source: USA Today

Updated Aug. 11, 2025, 6:35 p.m. ET


President Donald Trump said his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. "We're looking at reclassification and we'll make a determination over the next few weeks," Trump said at news conference August 11. Though 45 states have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational use, the federal government still classifies it as a Schedule I drug.

Schedule I drugs are defined as highly dangerous, addictive and without medical use. Marijuana has belonged to this class of drugs since the Controlled Substances Act was signed in 1970. If reclassified, marijuana would be treated the same as drugs like Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids, which can be prescribed by licensed health care providers and dispensed by licensed pharmacies.

Reclassifying marijuana would be the biggest change in marijuana policy the federal government has taken since the drug was first outlawed, but it would not make recreational usage legal under federal law.

The move began in 2022, when then-President Joe Biden asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Drug Enforcement Administration to review how marijuana is scheduled. In 2023, Health and Human Services recommended that marijuana be moved to Schedule III. In 2024, DEA proposed a rule to transfer marijuana to Schedule III. That rule change has been on hold since March 2025.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/08/11/trump-considering-reclassifying-marijuana/85610334007/