President Donald Trump recently took action to reclassify marijuana after a months-long federal review into how the drug is currently classified and restricted. In an order signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, state-sanctioned medical marijuana is now reclassified as federal officials work toward following through the president’s campaign trail promise to expand access to medical treatment.
“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,” Blanche said in a statement about the Trump administration marijuana classification plans, according to a Daily Mail report.
BREAKING: Trump administration reclassifies medical marijuana under federal law.
Acting AG Todd Blanche signed the order shifting it from SCHEDULE I, a category of drugs with no medical use and high potential for abuse, to the much less strictly regulated SCHEDULE III.
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— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 23, 2026
President Trump initiated the federal review into marijuana classification in December. Under current federal law, marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin and illegal narcotics like LSD and ecstasy. If signed, Trump’s proposal would officially reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug — placing it alongside some prescription drugs like opioids, ketamine, and steroids.
Advocates hope the move will ease marijuana research restrictions and make marijuana more accessible for medical use. “The Administration continues to expeditiously implement President Trump’s December executive order to increase medical marijuana research to close the gap between current medical marijuana use and medical knowledge,” a White House official told the Daily Mail, adding that further details on reclassification would come from the Department of Justice.
DEA officials are reportedly finalizing plans to issue an administrative hearing on the president’s decision as soon as next week, The Washington Post reported. The marijuana classification move by the president was met with some opposition from Congressional Republicans after the president announced he would move to reclassify marijuana in December. Twenty-two GOP senators and 26 House Republicans penned a letter asking Trump to reconsider.
“We don’t need rescheduling to do medical research on marijuana— all we are doing is exposing more of our youth to an addictive drug,” said Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump’s Acting AG Todd Blanche has just RECLASSIFIED state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug
The order does not legalize it federally, but shifts it from Schedule I to Schedule III, and also eases some research barriers on cannabis
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— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 23, 2026
The president has also dismissed claims that reclassifying marijuana would increase the likelihood of recreational drug use. “It doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form,” he said. “And in no way sanctions its use for a recreational drug.”
The president also reiterated his long-standing opposition to illegal drug use. “I always told my kids don’t take drugs,” Trump said, urging young Americans to “just don’t do it.” Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign promised to “allow more research into marijuana’s medical benefits.”
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers met with administration officials multiple times this year and lobbied for months in support of regulation reform before Trump signed the order. Rivers’s company donated to Trump’s campaign and encouraged other pot businesses to follow suit.
“It was a little surreal,” Rivers told The Wall Street Journal.
Trump has long supported limiting where cannabis can be consumed publicly, even as he works to ease federal restrictions on the drug.
Shares in marijuana companies like Canopy Growth Corp rose over 20 percent on the news, while Tilray stocks soared around 15 percent. The reclassification could help companies overcome obstacles to accessing financing and paying exorbitant taxes.
