President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that his administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
"Some people like it, some people hate it. Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children," President Trump said. "But we're looking at reclassification and we'll make a determination over the next, I would say, over the next few weeks and that determination hopefully will be the right one. It's a very complicated subject."
Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a "high potential for abuse and the potential to create severe psychological and/or physical dependence."
Prior to leaving office, President Joe Biden began the process of reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, which has "moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence." However, the rule wasn't finalized before the president left office.
Schedule III substances remain regulated under federal law, and anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells them without authorization can still face criminal prosecution. Reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III would acknowledge its accepted medical uses, ease restrictions on research and reduce certain federal tax burdens for cannabis businesses, though it would still be illegal at the federal level without proper authorization.
More than three dozen states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana for medical use, while about two dozen states and D.C. permit it for recreational purposes.
