US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug – a decision that could reshape the cannabis industry, ease criminal penalties and unlock billions in research funding.
The shift would represent one of the most significant federal changes to marijuana policy in decades, reducing oversight to the level of common prescription drugs and potentially opening doors long closed to banks and investors.
“We are looking at that very strongly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, responding to reports that he is looking at directing federal health and law enforcement agencies to treat marijuana as a Schedule III drug.
“A lot of people want to see it – the reclassification – because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify,” he said.
Dozens of US states already have legal medical marijuana programmes, and many also have approved its recreational use.
Under the US Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance like heroin, ecstasy and peyote, implying it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.