📝 usncan Note: Trump Says Marijuana Rescheduling Will Be Decided Within Weeks
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WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – AUGUST 11: US President Donald Trump delivers a speech during a press conference at White House in Washington DC, United States on August 11, 2025. (Photo by Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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In rare comments on marijuana since taking office, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would decide on marijuana rescheduling in the coming weeks.
During a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said his administration was “looking at it,” and they will make a decision “over the next few weeks,” calling it a “very complicated subject.”
This marks one of Trump’s rare public comments on marijuana rescheduling since he took office on Jan. 20, and comes a few days after the Wall Street Journal and CNN reported that he discussed loosening federal restrictions on marijuana at his private club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told attendees he was interested in a change, according to people who declined to be named. Guests at Trump’s fundraiser included Kim Rivers, chief executive of marijuana company Trulieve, who urged him to pursue the change and expand medical marijuana research, the people said.
In June, Marijuana Herald also reported that during a private meeting last week with two U.S. House members, President Donald Trump said, “We’ll be moving forward soon with rescheduling marijuana,” according to a staffer for one of the lawmakers present.
During the 2024 election campaign, Trump said he would make it easier for adults to access regulated marijuana products and give states more leeway to pursue legalization, indicating support for removing marijuana from the same legal category as narcotics such as heroin. He also supported a ballot initiative in Florida that aimed to legalize recreational marijuana, but it eventually failed.
But seven months into his second term, Trump has yet to act on marijuana reform.
Rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which places it alongside heroin and LSD as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, to Schedule III, defined as substances with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence, would make it easier to access recreational marijuana and could potentially boost the profitability of marijuana businesses, which are currently burdened by heavy taxation.
Marijuana rescheduling would also better align with state-level legalizations. Medical marijuana is legal in 39 states plus Washington D.C., while recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states plus Washington D.C.
Marijuana Rescheduling Stalemate
Trump’s remarks on marijuana rescheduling come amid a stalemate in the process to change the drug’s classification.
The effort to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III began under the Biden Administration in 2022. In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services formally recommended rescheduling.
Following that, the Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in May 2024, opening a public comment period that closed in July with over 43,000 submissions.
An administrative hearing was scheduled for January 2025 but was postponed due to procedural disputes and an interlocutory appeal.
As of today, the process remains stalled pending the outcome of that appeal, with no new hearing date set.
Newly appointed DEA Administrator Terrance Cole made remarks before his confirmation and swearing-in on July 23. During his confirmation hearings in April and May, Cole stated that advancing the marijuana rescheduling process would be “one of my top priorities” and that he would “give the matter careful consideration.”
However, after his confirmation, Cole did not include rescheduling among his top eight strategic priorities.
