Trump Makes History with Executive Order To Reschedule Cannabis

President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order to reclassify cannabis under federal drug laws, making good on a four-month-old assertion that his administration was considering the matter. The executive order directs the Department of Justice to issue a final rule on a proposal initiated by the Biden administration that would move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and place it in the less restrictive Schedule III.

Trump signed the executive order in the Oval Office flanked by a cadre of cannabis policy reform advocates, including researchers, representatives of veterans service organizations, cannabis business executives and others. Maintaining he is the “president of common sense,” the president noted that his executive order does not permit the recreational use of cannabis.

“I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization or does it legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” Trump said at the signing ceremony.

“This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana related medical research, allowing us to study benefits, potential dangers and future treatments,” the president added. “It’s going to have a tremendously positive impact.”

Also on hand were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, who spoke about the potential health impacts of CBD.

The executive order also directs administration leaders to work with Congress to give patients access to full-spectrum CBD products, “while still restricting the sale and access to products that cause serious and potentially life threatening health risks,” Marijuana Moment reported, citing a transcript of a White House briefing on the executive order.

The order also calls on Congress to reexamine the federal definition of hemp to ensure that patients can obtain full-spectrum CBD products. Additionally, the president’s order directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “develop research methods and models, to utilize real world evidence [and] to improve access to hemp-derived CBD products in accordance with federal law” while informing “standards of care.”

Trump’s move to reschedule cannabis drew an immediate response from representatives of the cannabis industry. George Archos, founder and CEO of multistate operator Verano, lauded the significance of the development in a statement to the press.

“Today’s historic announcement reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III marks a pivotal moment that recognizes there are commonly accepted medical uses for cannabis, finally allowing America’s next great homegrown industry to reach its full potential by serving patients, creating jobs, unlocking economic growth, and reversing decades of harmful prohibitionist policies,” said Archos. ”As we turn the page on a new chapter for cannabis in America, we stand ready to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to support the continued growth of a safe, legal, regulated cannabis industry that provides health, wellness, and economic prosperity for millions of Americans every day.”