Washington, December 19 (ANI): US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to federally reclassify marijuana as less dangerous, Al Jazeera reported.
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to expedite the process through the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana. In the US, drugs are categorized into five schedules, with Schedule I representing the most restricted substances and Schedule V the least. Marijuana was previously classified as Schedule I, alongside potent narcotics like heroin and LSD. The new order moves it to Schedule III, a category that includes ketamine and anabolic steroids.
Trump emphasized that the change “is not the legalization” of marijuana and “in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” according to Al Jazeera. However, the reclassification will make it significantly easier to conduct research on marijuana, as studies on Schedule III drugs require far less regulatory approval than those on Schedule I substances.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that the move was popular “because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify, so we are looking at that very strongly.”
The federal change aligns with several states that have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use, creating a patchwork of state-level regulations that conflict with federal law, where marijuana remains illegal.
Former President Joe Biden had taken steps to reduce federal penalties for marijuana, including issuing mass pardons for simple possession, which disproportionately affected minority communities. His administration had also begun the process of reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III, but it was not completed before he left office in January.
Public support for legalizing marijuana for recreational use has nearly doubled in recent years, rising from 36 percent in 2005 to 68 percent in 2024, according to Gallup polls.
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