Trump signed an order to speed up moving weed to a lower drug schedule. This pushes the Justice Department to finish a rule change that would reclassify marijuana from Schedule I, where it sits with heroin, to Schedule III, acknowledging some medical use. The process started under President Biden after a review by health officials.
Marijuana, being a Schedule I, has blocked serious medical research for decades, even though most states allow medical or recreational use. Shifting it to Schedule III would ease those research restrictions. The public comment period on this change showed overwhelming support for even broader legalization.
This administrative rescheduling, a first for a substance this common, does not make it federally legal. Congress could also change the law. The order just tells the feds to wrap up the existing bureaucratic process as fast as possible.
Marijuana, being a Schedule I, has blocked serious medical research for decades, even though most states allow medical or recreational use. Shifting it to Schedule III would ease those research restrictions. The public comment period on this change showed overwhelming support for even broader legalization.
This administrative rescheduling, a first for a substance this common, does not make it federally legal. Congress could also change the law. The order just tells the feds to wrap up the existing bureaucratic process as fast as possible.
