Green Thumb Industries Founder and CEO Ben Kovler analyzes the White House’s potential move to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III on “The Claman Countdown.”
President Donald Trump reiterated Monday that he is considering whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a statement that echoes similar comments he made earlier this year and during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president said he was considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug.
“We’re taking that into account. A lot of people want to see it, the reclassification, because it leads to enormous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify it,” Trump said Monday.
“So we’re looking at that very strongly,” he continued.
TRUMP CONSIDERS reclassifying marijuana as LESS DANGEROUS DRUG: REPORT
President Donald Trump said he is considering whether to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
A White House official said Friday that “no final decisions have been made on marijuana realignment.”
Marijuana’s current listing as a Schedule I substance places it in the same category as heroin, ecstasy and peyote, implying that it has a high potential for abuse and currently has no medical uses. Schedule III drugs include Tylenol mixed with codeine, ketamine and testosterone.
The potential move to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule I controlled substances and make it a Schedule III drug would make it significantly easier to buy and sell cannabis and make the cannabis industry more profitable.
Rescheduling is different from eliminating marijuana, as federal penalties for marijuana use and possession would remain. However, a reclassification would remove barriers to research and boost the multi-billion dollar industry.
The move could reshape the industry by potentially lowering taxes and making it easier to secure financing.
The current listing of marijuana as a Schedule I substance places it in the same category as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Previous reports that Trump could ease federal restrictions on psychoactive drug-boosted cannabis company shares.
Trump supported rescheduling the drug during the presidential campaign. He also said in August that he was considering whether to reclassify.
But Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who supports the reclassification, accused Trump of trying to make Americans “believe he just made pot legal” by attempting to reschedule the content.
“Trump will try to make everyone believe he just made pot legal. Wrong. He has not decriminalized cannabis or expunged the data of Black and Latino Americans incarcerated for minor drug offenses. This is just an attempt to boost his pathetic approval ratings,” Wyden said on X.
CANNABIS SHARES RISE ON TRUMP REPORT SEEKS TO EASE RESTRICTIONS
President Donald Trump said he is considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug. (Reuters/Kent Nishimura / Reuters Photos)
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The Biden administration had begun pursuing marijuana reclassification but did not implement the change before the former president left office.
There have also been several accounts introduced in Congress by Democrats and Republicans over the years to downgrade marijuana to a Schedule III drug, or remove it from the list of controlled substances altogether. Federal lawmakers have also tried to decriminalize the plant.
But these measures have not yet been laid down in law.
More than 40 states have legalized medical marijuana, while 24 states and Washington DC have also legalized recreational marijuana.
Reuters contributed to this report.
