Trump Reclassifies State-Approved Medical Marijuana Much to the Chagrin of Hardline Conservatives

The Justice Department on Thursday officially announced it would consider state-sanctioned medical marijuana as a Schedule III rather than Schedule I drug, much to the chagrin of some of his hardline conservative allies. In recent days, Mr. Trump has sided with the more libertarian wing of his party in making it easier for people to access drugs for medical purposes. In a statement Thursday, the Justice Department announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration would no longer classify marijuana products approved in certain states as a top-tier threat to public health under the Controlled Substances Act. The DOJ says it will hold a hearing this summer on a larger reclassification of the drug. “The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s promise to expand Americans’ access to medical treatment options,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Thursday. “This rescheduling action allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information.”DEA Administration Terry Cole said the president is “bringing consistency and oversight to an area that has lacked both.”As part of its decision to reclassify a broader swath of marijuana products, the DOJ says it is rescinding President Biden’s 2024 proposed rulemaking process for reclassification. The move will allow the DOJ to “move more efficiently toward the completion of marijuana’s complete redesignation.”The decision to reclassify state-approved marijuana products as Schedule III drugs has been decades in the making, with Democrats and some libertarian conservatives pushing to allow Americans to access those products for both medical and recreational use. According to a poll earlier this month from YouGov, 59 percent of Americans support decriminalizing marijuana, while only 28 percent oppose such a move. Republicans on Capitol Hill, however, have made clear that they do not see eye-to-eye with the president on this one. In December, dozens of House Republicans wrote to Mr. Trump to urge him against rescheduling the drug. They said at the time that such a move would send the “wrong message” to America’s children. “Schedule I drugs are addictive and have no medical value. Marijuana fits squarely into this category,” lawmakers wrote. “Rescheduling tells our youth that marijuana use is acceptable and safe, a dangerous falsehood that will sink us deeper into our country’s drug crisis.”In response to Mr. Trump’s rescheduling decision on Thursday, Senator Tom Cotton — the Intelligence Committee chairman and number three Senate Republican — expressed his displeasure. “Marijuana today is much more potent than just ten or twenty years ago, leading to increased psychosis, anti-social behavior, and fatal car crashes,” Mr. Cotton wrote on X. “Arkansans don’t want more dangerous drugs obtained more easily. A change to marijuana’s drug classification is a step in the wrong direction.”Last week, Mr. Trump accelerated the potential approval process for ibogaine, a psychedelic drug which has shown promise in treating mental health disorders. He was joined by podcaster Joe Rogan in the Oval Office who has long supported the legalization of the drug in order to help people. “The text message that came back … ‘Sounds great, do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.’” Mr. Rogan recalled of his text exchange with the president.

Trump Reclassifies State-Approved Medical Marijuana Much to the Chagrin of Hardline Conservatives

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