Trump Administration Reclassifies Medical Marijuana to Schedule III

The Trump administration is dismantling pieces of the federal government’s decades-long war on drugs, reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana and clearing bureaucratic obstacles for psychedelic treatments that could help veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order Thursday moving licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I, the strictest category that lumps it with heroin and LSD, to Schedule III. The change brings fewer federal regulations and opens the door for tax breaks that could help businesses in states where medical cannabis is already legal. A separate Drug Enforcement Administration hearing scheduled for June 29 could extend similar treatment to recreational markets. President Trump has called the overall approach “common sense,” noting that most states have already moved ahead while Washington remained stuck in prohibition-era thinking.

Forty states and the District of Columbia now permit some form of medical marijuana. Twenty-four states plus Washington, D.C., allow adult recreational use. These markets generate billions in tax revenue. Only Idaho and Kansas have refused to legalize cannabis in any form. The Trump order acknowledges that state regulatory systems for growing, testing, and selling medical marijuana have matured significantly since California became the first state to approve it in 1996. Yet the drug remains illegal under federal law, and the new classification does not change that core prohibition.

Public opinion presents a more complicated picture. A Gallup poll last year found a slim majority of Americans now believe marijuana harms most users and damages society overall, a more negative view than in 2022 even as legal sales expanded. Some Republican leaders have expressed reservations about the reclassification, warning that easing federal rules could send the wrong message at a time when fentanyl and other hard drugs continue to kill Americans. The administration’s move arrives as the cannabis industry celebrates what one Boston attorney called a clear signal that “this administration means business.”

At the same time, Trump is applying similar skepticism toward outdated federal bureaucracy in the realm of psychedelic medicines. On Saturday he signed an executive order instructing the FDA to fast-track priority reviews for therapies that have received Breakthrough Therapy designations. The order commits $50 million in federal matching funds for states pursuing ibogaine research programs, paves the way for the first clinical trials of ibogaine on American soil, and expands access through the Right to Try framework.

Ibogaine, derived from an African plant, remains on Schedule I for now. But the president’s directive could dramatically speed up research into its potential to treat the invisible wounds carried by veterans. Standing beside conservative podcaster Joe Rogan and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, whose story inspired the film “Lone Survivor,” Trump said the goal was to give people “a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life.”

The move addresses a grim reality. For years, veterans with severe PTSD and traumatic brain injuries have been forced to travel to unregulated clinics in Mexico because American doctors could not legally offer ibogaine at home. The FDA’s glacial approval process treated a plant with centuries of traditional use as if it were some rogue street drug. Families watched their loved ones continue to struggle while Washington studied the issue to death. Trump’s order recognizes that this delay has carried a human cost measured in broken marriages, substance abuse, and suicides among those who served the country.

Critics will likely challenge both the marijuana reclassification and the ibogaine push in court. Legal battles are expected. Yet the administration’s actions reflect a broader pattern: distrust of centralized public health bureaucracies that have often appeared more interested in protecting their own power than in practical results for ordinary citizens. The same federal agencies that spent years insisting cannabis had no medical value watched states build sophisticated regulatory systems that generated revenue and, in some cases, provided relief for chronic pain patients.

This is not a full embrace of drug legalization. The president has not called for marijuana to be treated like alcohol at the federal level, and the ibogaine order focuses narrowly on therapeutic use under medical supervision rather than recreational experimentation. Trump’s team appears to be drawing a distinction between helping people in genuine medical need, especially those who sacrificed for the nation, and turning a blind eye to the societal costs of widespread drug use that polls suggest more Americans are beginning to recognize.

The June DEA hearing will determine how far the marijuana changes extend. For now, the administration has delivered concrete steps that ease pressure on state programs and create new pathways for treatments long blocked by Washington. Veterans groups and medical marijuana advocates alike are watching closely to see whether these moves mark the beginning of a larger shift away from one-size-fits-all prohibition toward policies that reflect real-world experience rather than outdated ideology. For families who have waited years for relief, the change in tone from the White House is unmistakable.