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Today's Topics:
1. Trump orders reclassification of marijuana (Stephen Loosley)
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2025 21:48:59 +1030
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Trump orders reclassification of marijuana
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
WATCH: Trump orders reclassification of marijuana, downgrading its drug schedule
Health Dec 18, 2025 2:12 PM EST
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/watch-trump-orders-reclassification-of-marijuana-downgrading-its-drug-schedule
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday
that would reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug and open new avenues
for medical research, a major shift in federal drug policy that inches closer
to what many states have done.
The switch would move marijuana away from its current classification as a
Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. Cannabis would instead be a Schedule
III substance, like ketamine and some anabolic steroids.
Watch the announcement in the video player above.
Reclassification by the Drug Enforcement Administration would not make it legal
for recreational use by adults nationwide, but it could change how the drug is
regulated and reduce a hefty tax burden on the cannabis industry.
Similarly, the Justice Department under Trump?s Democratic predecessor, Joe
Biden, proposed reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III substance. Unlike
Biden, Trump did not have open encouragement from across his party for the
move. Some Republicans have spoken out in opposition to any changes and urged
Trump to maintain current standards.
Such a switch typically requires an arduous process, including a public comment
period that has drawn tens of thousands of reactions from across the U.S. The
DEA was still in the review process when Trump took office in January. Trump?s
order is expected to speed the process along, though it was not immediately
clear how long it might take.
Many states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults or
allow it for medical purposes. But U.S. laws have remained stricter,
potentially leaving people subject to federal prosecution.
Polling from Gallup shows more Americans back a less restrictive approach:
Support for marijuana legalization has grown significantly, from just 36%
support in 2005 to 68% last year.
WATCH: How the reclassification of marijuana could impact users, businesses and
research
Trump?s order also calls for expanded research and access to CBD, a legal and
increasingly popular hemp-derived product whose benefits are debated by experts.
More than 20 Republican senators, several of them staunch Trump allies, signed
a letter this year urging the president to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug.
Led by North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, the group argued that marijuana continues
to be dangerous and that a shift would ?undermine your strong efforts to Make
America Great Again.? They argued, too, that marijuana negatively affects
users? physical and mental health, as well as road and workplace safety.
?The only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China,
while Americans will be left paying the bill,? the letter said, referring to
China?s place in the cannabis market.
As for decriminalizing marijuana, Trump has not previously committed to such a
move, though he had considered reclassifying it for much of his second term. He
once said as a candidate that it should remain a state-by-state issue.
As president, he has made his crusade against other drugs, especially fentanyl,
a feature of his second term, ordering U.S. military attacks on Venezuelan and
other boats the administration insists are ferrying drugs.
He signed another executive order declaring fentanyl a weapon of mass
destruction.
Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed
to this report.
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