President Trump announced on Monday that his administration is actively “considering” the reclassification of marijuana to a less hazardous category. This comes shortly after The Washington Post revealed that he might soon sign an executive order instructing agencies to work towards this reclassification.

This potential shift would further the initiatives begun under the Biden administration, which initiated efforts to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug in 2024. However, these efforts were not completed before President Biden’s term concluded.

In a discussion at the Oval Office, Trump remarked, “We are considering that. A lot of people are advocating for reclassification because it facilitates extensive research that is currently hindered under the existing classification. So, we are examining this very carefully.”

The Washington Post recently reported on the administration’s renewed interest in reclassification, citing several insiders who noted that Trump had deliberated over the matter with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Since 1971, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug, placing it in the same category as heroin, methamphetamines, and LSD. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Schedule I drugs are considered to have no recognized medical use and a high potential for abuse.

Schedule III drugs include ketamine, anabolic steroids, testosterone and Tylenol with codeine.

Trump endorsed rescheduling during the presidential campaign. In mid-August, Trump said that he’d be making a decision on rescheduling within “the next few weeks,” but it hasn’t happened yet. 

Rescheduling marijuana would bring negligible changes in criminal justice reform, and critics accuse the president of political opportunism.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused Trump of attempting to “gaslight” Americans into “believing he just made pot legal” by facilitating rescheduling. 

“He has not decriminalized cannabis or expunged the records of black and Latino Americans stuck in prison for minor drug offenses. This is just an attempt to boost his pathetic approval ratings,” Wyden wrote on X.  

Rescheduling is vastly different from a complete descheduling of marijuana, as there would still be federal penalties for marijuana use and possession. But the move would ease barriers to research and would be a major boon for the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry. 

Under U.S. tax code, no business that deals with a Schedule I or Schedule II substance is permitted to make what would be considered ordinary business deductions or add any credit to their annual federal taxes. 

Forty-two states, plus D.C., have legalized medical marijuana and 24 allow recreational use.