Earlier in August, Donald Trump said his administration is now “looking at” reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug, which would bring the U.S. federal government closer to an approach already embraced in many states. According to Trump, he expected to make a decision in the coming weeks on whether to support changes to federal cannabis regulation. Moreover, the renewed attention comes more than a year after Joe Biden’s administration formally proposed reclassifying cannabis in a move that remained unresolved when Biden left office.
“Some people like it, some people hate it,” said Trump. “Some people hate the whole concept of [cannabis] because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.” Furthermore, stocks in cannabis-related businesses soared following Trump’s comments.
Possession of cannabis is still a federal crime in the U.S. that can result in fines and imprisonment. Furthermore, selling or cultivating the drug carries harsher penalties, with prison sentences ranging from five years to life, depending on the amount of cannabis involved. However, on a state level, cannabis is fully legal in 24 US states, including recreational use. Moreover, the medical use of cannabis is permitted in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Last year, the Justice Department proposed reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I substance, a category that includes heroin and LSD, to a less restrictive Schedule III category, which includes drugs such as ketamine and certain anabolic steroids. However, completing this change would require navigating a lengthy bureaucratic process.
Changing the legislation would also facilitate clinical trials using cannabis, since currently, due to the risk of federal penalties, many U.S. banks and financial institutions avoid offering services such as debit and credit transactions, loans, or other standard financial products to state-licensed cannabis businesses. “I’ve heard great things having to do with medical [cannabis use] and “bad things having to do with just about everything else,” Trump said.
However, the push to reclassify cannabis has also met resistance from some U.S. conservatives and law enforcement organizations. The National Sheriffs’ Association has filed written objections citing previous findings that marijuana carries a “high potential for abuse” and referencing incidents of “extreme intoxication” and fatal car crashes.
In the U.S., cannabis consumption has increased in recent years. A 2024 national survey from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that more than 64 million Americans aged 12 and older, which corresponds to about 22.3% of the population, reported using marijuana in the past year, compared to 19% in 2021.
