However, the executive order which Trump is expected to sign, would not make cannabis legal at the federal level. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) US President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to sign an executive order that could eventually fast-track the reclassification of cannabis and acknowledge at the federal level its medicinal benefits for the first time. Currently, cannabis comes under the same category as that of LSD and heroin under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.
The Trump administration aims to move the drug from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 which could ease the regulatory hurdles and allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to research cannabis for the first time with regards to its medicinal benefits, which could open the arena of its usage by seniors, veterans and other pharmaceuticals but restricted to medical purpose only, according to NBC News.
However, the executive order which Trump is expected to sign, would not make cannabis legal at the federal level. The US president on Monday said his administration is “considering” the move.
“We are considering that because a lot of people want to see the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify. So, we are looking at that very strongly,” Trump said.
The report stated that the order is expected to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi or Drug Enforcement Administration to conclude the rescheduling process which has been under process for over a year and finalise the rules in order to classify cannabis as a Schedule 3 drug.
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The development in the cannabis sector came after the US president hosted a group of cannabis executives in the Oval Office last week and held meetings with Health Secretary RFK Jr., FDA commissioner among others.
The reclassification is one of the poll promises which Trump made during his campaign trail in 2024 when he promised to “unlock the medical uses of marijuana” by reclassifying the drug if he was elected as the president.
