Trump signs executive order to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 18 directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, marking one of the most significant shifts in U.S. drug policy in decades.

The White House said in a fact sheet that the reclassification is intended to remove barriers that have limited scientific research into marijuana’s safety and effectiveness. The administration pointed to a Food and Drug Administration review it said is useful in treating conditions such as illness-related anorexia, nausea and vomiting, and pain.

“Schedule III status will allow research studies to incorporate real-world evidence and models that can assess the health outcomes of medical marijuana and legal CBD products while focusing on long-term health effects in vulnerable populations like adolescents and young adults,” the fact sheet states.

Speaking during a ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump described the order as recognizing marijuana’s “legitimate medical uses” for conditions including severe pain, cancer, seizures, and neurological disorders. 

“We have people begging for me to do this,” he said. “People who are in great pain.” 

The reclassification moves marijuana out of Schedule I, the most restrictive category for drugs deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse,” and into Schedule III. Drugs in Schedule III are considered to have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” and include ketamine, testosterone, and Tylenol with codeine. 

Importantly, the action does not legalize marijuana federally for recreational use, which remains prohibited under federal law. 

“I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization [of] marijuana in any way, shape, or form — and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” Trump said, later adding, “It's never safe to use powerful controlled substances in recreational manners.”

The move follows pushback from nearly half of Senate Republicans who urged Trump in a Dec. 17 letter not to proceed with the reclassification. The 22 senators argued that federal restrictions could undermine public health, increase addiction, and send a misleading signal about the drug’s safety, CatholicVote reported.

CatholicVote has also warned against loosening federal marijuana restrictions. In a Dec. 16 petition urging Trump not to reschedule the drug, the organization said that “[a]nything that waters down the grim, addictive nature of this gateway drug is dangerous.”

CatholicVote President Kelsey Reinhardt sharply criticized the White House’s decision, arguing that real-world evidence from states that have legalized marijuana undercuts claims about its safety.

“Every argument pushed by the cannabis lobby has now been exposed as false by real-world data and medical science,” Reinhardt said. “We were told marijuana was safe, non-addictive, and would reduce crime — none of that turned out to be true in my home state of Colorado or in other states that are now working to repeal.”

Reinhardt pointed to higher addiction rates, spikes in emergency room visits, impaired driving, heart risks, mental health damage, and long-term harm to young people in states that have expanded marijuana access. 

“That’s why the White House’s decision to move toward rescheduling cannabis is so disappointing,” she said. “It ignores the evidence, bypasses the FDA’s gold-standard review process, repeats the same reckless mistakes we made with Big Tobacco, and puts ideology ahead of public health.”

She said CatholicVote plans to press federal and state officials to limit the effects of the policy shift. 

“CatholicVote will work with the FDA and HHS to minimize the damage. We will urge Congress to reverse this Executive Order,” Reinhardt concluded. “And we will be working with states nationwide to make sure they don’t repeat Colorado’s mistake.”