Officials say the move would ease federal restrictions while stopping short of full legalization.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug, according to two senior administration officials, a step that would reduce federal restrictions but leave cannabis regulated.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order as soon as Wednesday that would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the matter. The change would move cannabis out of the most restrictive category in federal drug law.
Schedule III drugs are defined as having accepted medical use and a lower potential for abuse compared with Schedule I substances. Marijuana is currently listed as Schedule I, a category reserved for drugs deemed to have no accepted medical use under federal law.
Officials say the reclassification would ease some federal restrictions, potentially expanding medical research and reducing regulatory barriers for certain cannabis-related activities. However, marijuana would remain illegal at the federal level for non-medical use unless Congress or regulators take further action.
The expected order follows years of debate over marijuana’s classification, as a majority of U.S. states have legalized cannabis for medical use, and several have approved recreational use. Federal law, however, has remained largely unchanged.
Legal and policy experts note that reclassification could affect banking access, tax treatment, and research approvals, but would not amount to nationwide legalization. Any practical impact would depend on how federal agencies implement the change.
The White House has not yet released the text of the order. Officials cautioned that timelines could shift and emphasized that the decision has not been formally announced.
