U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order recommending the loosening of federal regulations on marijuana, a move that could mark one of the most significant shifts in U.S. drug policy in decades.
According to senior administration officials, the order directs the attorney general to move quickly toward reclassifying marijuana under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. If approved, the psychoactive drug would be downgraded from its current Schedule I status — reserved for substances deemed to have no accepted medical use — to Schedule III, placing it alongside drugs such as certain painkillers, ketamine and testosterone.
Such a change could have far-reaching implications for the cannabis industry, medical research and criminal justice. While marijuana would remain illegal at the federal level, reclassification could ease criminal penalties, unlock billions of dollars in research funding and remove long-standing barriers that have prevented banks and institutional investors from supporting cannabis-related businesses.
“We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The Drug Enforcement Administration must still review the recommendation and make a final determination on marijuana’s classification. The full text of the executive order has not yet been made public.
Senior officials said the primary goal of the order is to expand medical research into marijuana and cannabis-derived products to better understand their risks and potential therapeutic benefits. In a related move, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to allow some beneficiaries to use hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and globally. Nearly one in five U.S. residents report using marijuana each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Millions of Americans have been arrested for possession over the years, even as cannabis-related companies openly sell products and trade on public stock exchanges.
Under current federal law, marijuana is classified alongside drugs such as heroin and ecstasy, a designation that asserts a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs, by contrast, are considered less addictive and recognized for legitimate medical applications. Even with reclassification, marijuana would remain a controlled substance subject to federal restrictions and penalties.
Markets reacted swiftly to reports of the potential policy shift, with shares of cannabis-related companies rising. Access to financing remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges, as federal restrictions largely exclude cannabis producers from traditional banking services.
“Organigram Global views the potential reclassification of cannabis in the United States as a significant regulatory signal for the global cannabis industry,” a spokesperson for the company said. “This shift marks an important step toward greater regulatory clarity and institutional acceptance of cannabis worldwide.”
Marijuana laws in the United States continue to vary widely at the state level, ranging from full legalization to outright prohibition. Since California legalized medicinal marijuana in 1996, a steady trend toward liberalization has spread across much of the country.
The issue cuts across partisan lines, with most Americans expressing support for full legalization in opinion polls. During his 2021–2025 term, former Democratic President Joe Biden issued broad pardons for federal marijuana possession offenses and initiated a review of marijuana’s legal status. Following that review, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug.
Trump, long known for his law-and-order stance on crime and drugs, has previously authorized aggressive anti-drug measures, including military-backed operations and high-profile enforcement actions. However, he has also broken with traditional Republican positions by issuing pardons to individuals convicted of federal drug-related offenses.
