Trump Pushes for Marijuana Rescheduling: What the New Schedule III Classification Means for Patients and Businesses

On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to accelerate regulatory reviews of psychedelics with potential psychotherapeutic benefits. During the signing, he pressed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fulfill his promise to reclassify marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

"Will you get the rescheduling done, please?" Trump asked Kennedy. "They're slow-walking me on rescheduling….You're gonna get it done, right?"

While Kennedy’s department advises on rescheduling, the CSA grants the attorney general the final authority to make the decision. On Thursday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche took a significant step toward Trump’s goal by signing an order to reclassify state-approved medical marijuana from Schedule I—the CSA’s most restrictive category—to Schedule III. This category includes prescription drugs like ketamine, anabolic steroids, and Tylenol with codeine.

Under Blanche’s order, any new cannabis-based medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will also be listed in Schedule III. However, this change does not legalize marijuana, even for medical use, which would require FDA approval of specific products.

The rescheduling acknowledges that marijuana’s Schedule I status is not scientifically justified, a criticism of cannabis prohibition that has persisted for decades. It also aims to facilitate medical research and provides financial relief to state-licensed medical marijuana suppliers by allowing them to deduct standard business expenses on federal tax returns.

"The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump's promise to expand Americans' access to medical treatment options," Blanche said. "This 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."

Blanche’s order is more limited than the broader change Trump initially sought in December. At that time, Trump instructed then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to "complete the rulemaking process" to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II as quickly as possible under federal law.

The broader reclassification of marijuana itself remains pending until after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) holds a hearing scheduled to begin on June 29.

"Under the direction of President Trump and Acting Attorney General Blanche," DEA Administrator Terry Cole said, "DEA is expeditiously moving forward with the administrative hearing process—bringing consistency and oversight to an area that has lacked both."

Blanche’s order specifically applies to marijuana sold by businesses with a state medical marijuana license. These businesses must register with the DEA. Currently, 40 states permit medical marijuana use, and Blanche noted that these state systems have established strong safeguards to prevent diversion, ensure product safety, maintain records, and conduct facility inspections—functions that align with federal registration and recordkeeping requirements.

"Incorporating state licensing systems into the federal registration framework represents the most effective and efficient means of achieving the CSA's objectives with respect to medical marijuana while