President Donald Trump is considering softening federal laws on cannabis, potentially following through on his campaign promise to reclassify the drug and increase access to medical marijuana.
“We’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over, I’d say, the next few weeks,” the President said at a Monday press conference.
His remarks follow a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump told donors he is weighing reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
The possession and use of marijuana is illegal at the federal level. The substance is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a “high potential for abuse” and can cause serious psychological or physical dependence. Possession of the drug can result in up to one year in prison and a fine of at least $1,000 under federal law, though penalties vary.
The Biden Administration moved to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug—a ranking that would lower criminal penalties for it—though officials did not finalize their plans before leaving office. The change in status would also allow marijuana companies to benefit from some tax breaks.
Around 40 states have legalized medical marijuana, though far fewer allow for its recreational use.
Trump’s position is a departure from the view of traditional conservative politicians, but he expressed curiosity in the idea of decriminalization and has shown support for medical marijuana, in particular.
“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state-authorized companies, and supporting states’ rights to pass marijuana laws,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last September.
The move could prove popular: Nearly nine in ten adults believe that marijuana should be legal for either medical or recreational use, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center report.
But the President has been somewhat inconsistent in his stance. Earlier this year, the Administration included a budget bill provision that would repeal existing protections for medical cannabis patients.
Here’s what Trump has said regarding cannabis legalization.
Ahead of the 2016 presidential election
Before the launch of his political career, Trump signaled his support for the legalization of drugs to better combat the ongoing drug crisis in the country. “We’re losing badly the war on drugs,” Trump said in an April 1990 article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars.” His stance, however, has slightly shifted as he has grown more prominent in the national eye.
Trump told Nevada rallygoers in November 2015 that he believed marijuana legalization should be left to the states, while also calling for greater research into areas that do allow for its recreational use, such as Colorado. The state legalized the drug recreationally via a 2012 state constitutional amendment, becoming the second state to do so at the time.
In a February 2016 interview with Fox News, the President cited some concerns about marijuana dealers and the industry as a whole while simultaneously stating his support. “In some ways I think it’s good and in other ways it’s bad. I do want to see what the medical effects are. I have to see what the medical effects are and, by the way — medical marijuana, medical? I’m in favor of it a hundred percent,” Trump said at the time.
During his first presidential term
Still, the President failed to take action on the matter during his first term.
In 2018, the Trump Administration lifted a policy enacted under the Obama Administration that directed federal authorities not to pursue marijuana prosecutions in states where the drug is legal.
The President also proposed terminating a policy that bars the Justice Department from using funds to stop state-level medical marijuana programs numerous times under his first term, but legislators kept such protections in the spending bills.
2024 presidential election
Trump has been more pointed in his promises to voters regarding the reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule III drug.
The President revealed in September 2024 that he would be voting in favor of Florida’s Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that would have legalized the possession, sale, and recreational use of marijuana. “As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use. We must also implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults to safe, tested product[s],” Trump said on Truth Social at the time.
Although a majority of voters were in favor of the amendment, the measure was ultimately defeated as it failed to reach the 60% threshold necessary to pass.
2025 second presidential term
The President has recently signaled that changes regarding the federal restrictions on marijuana could be reduced.
Trulieve, a marijuana dispensary company, and the U.S. Cannabis Council gave a combined $1 million to Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2024. A chief executive of the cannabis company was reportedly present at the New Jersey fundraiser where Trump reportedly said that he was considering revisiting existing federal marijuana policies.
Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO James Hagedorn told Fox News that Trump had informed him and others that he would follow through on his statement. “This is a promise he made during the campaign and promises made are promises kept,” Hagedorn said.
