{"id":39715,"date":"2026-04-23T13:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/39715\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:53:15","slug":"trump-reclassifies-state-licensed-medical-marijuana-in-historic-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/39715\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana in historic shift"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana<\/a> as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government.<\/p>\n

The order signed by Todd Blanche does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use under federal law. But it does change the way it\u2019s regulated, shifting licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I \u2014 reserved for drugs without medical use and with high potential for abuse \u2014 to the less strictly regulated Schedule III. It also gives licensed medical marijuana operators a major tax break and eases some barriers to researching cannabis.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration also said it was jump-starting the process for reclassifying marijuana more broadly, setting a hearing to begin in late June.<\/p>\n

Trump told his administration in December to work as quickly as possible to reclassify marijuana<\/a>. On Saturday, as the Republican president signed an unrelated executive order<\/a> about psychedelics, he seemed to express frustration that it was taking so long. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump waves as he departs after an event for NCAA national champions in the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump waves as he departs after an event for NCAA national champions in the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n

Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Blanche said Thursday that the Department of Justice was \u201cdelivering on President Trump\u2019s promise\u201d to expand Americans\u2019 access to medical treatment options. \u201cThis 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,\u201d he said in a statement. <\/p>\n

What the marijuana reclassification order does<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s action Iargely legitimizes medical marijuana programs in the 40 states that have adopted them. It sets up an expedited system for state-licensed medical marijuana producers and distributors to register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Acting<\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche holds a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche holds a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/p>\n

Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n

Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

It makes clear that cannabis researchers won\u2019t be penalized for obtaining state-licensed marijuana or marijuana-derived products for use in their work, and it grants state-licensed medical marijuana companies a windfall by allowing them, for the first time, to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes.<\/p>\n

Any marijuana-derived medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration is similarly listed in Schedule III, it said.<\/p>\n

The order represents a major policy shift for the U.S. government, which has continued its longstanding marijuana prohibition \u2014 dating to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937<\/a> \u2014 even as nearly all the states have approved cannabis use in some form. Two dozen states plus Washington, D.C., have authorized adult recreational use of marijuana, 40 have medical marijuana systems, and eight others allow low-THC cannabis or CBD oil for medical use. Only Idaho and Kansas ban marijuana outright.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Sign up for Morning Wire:
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n

The regulation of medical marijuana has come a long way since California became the first state to adopt it in 1996, Blanche wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday the vast majority of States maintain comprehensive licensing frameworks governing cultivation, processing, distribution, and dispensing of marijuana for medical purposes,\u201d Blanche wrote. \u201cTaken as a whole, they demonstrate a sustained capacity to achieve the public-interest objectives … including protecting public health and safety and preventing the diversion of controlled substances into illicit channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Acting<\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/p>\n

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/p>\n

Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n

Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

The president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, Michael Bronstein, called it \u201cthe most significant federal advancement in cannabis policy in over 50 years.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis action recognizes what Americans have long known, cannabis is medicine,\u201d he said in a written statement.<\/p>\n

Critic calls the order \u2018a tax break to Big Weed\u2019<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s decision drew derision from marijuana legalization opponent Kevin Sabet, the chief executive of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. Sabet said that while marijuana research is necessary, \u201cthere are many ways to increase our knowledge without giving a tax break to Big Weed and sending a confusing message about marijuana\u2019s harms to the American public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this move, we are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history,\u201d Sabet said in a text message. \u201cPolicy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelics investors, and podcasters in active addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marijuana or marijuana-derived products that are not distributed through a state medical marijuana program will continue to be classified in Schedule I.<\/p>\n

Schedule III drugs are defined as having moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Some critics of the industry have suggested that legalization in the states has led to stronger and stronger cannabis products, which need to be researched rather than categorized less strictly than before.<\/p>\n

The efforts to reclassify marijuana<\/p>\n

The Justice Department under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had proposed to reclassify marijuana<\/a>, eliciting nearly 43,000 formal public comments. The DEA was still in the review process when Trump succeeded Biden, and Trump ordered that process to move along as quickly as legally possible.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks during an event for NCAA national champions in the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks during an event for NCAA national champions in the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n

Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n

Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n

Share<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s order sidestepped the review process by relying on a provision of federal law that allows the attorney general to determine the appropriate classification for drugs that the U.S. must regulate pursuant to an international treaty. <\/p>\n

It was unclear how the order might affect operations in states where licensed recreational marijuana shops also sell to medical patients. In Washington state, which in 2012 became one of the first states to legalize the adult use of marijuana, 302 of 460 licensed stores have endorsements allowing them to sell tax-free cannabis products to registered patients.<\/p>\n

Many Republicans oppose loosening marijuana restrictions. More than 20 Republican senators, several of them staunch Trump allies, signed a letter last year urging the president to keep the current standards. <\/p>\n

Trump has made his crusade against other drugs, especially fentanyl, a feature of his second term, ordering U.S. military attacks<\/a> on Venezuelan and other boats the administration insists are ferrying drugs. He signed another executive order declaring fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This story has been corrected to show the name of the 1937 law was spelled Marihuana, not Marijuana.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Johnson reported from Seattle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump\u2019s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4216,474,544,8356,3372,12,1665,5327,3461,25831,25781,25832,51,6178,74,9007,3771,3773,1194],"class_list":{"0":"post-39715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-donald-trump","8":"tag-ap-top-news","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-dc-wire","12":"tag-district-of-columbia","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-joe-biden","17":"tag-kevin-sabet","18":"tag-marijuana","19":"tag-michael-bronstein","20":"tag-politics","21":"tag-todd-blanche","22":"tag-trump","23":"tag-u-s-department-of-justice","24":"tag-u-s-venezuela-conflict","25":"tag-united-states-government","26":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116454359445628785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}