Trump Signs Order to Ease Cannabis Restrictions: Q&A

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing his administration to move cannabis into a less restrictive federal category, setting in motion a regulatory shift that could alter the legal and commercial landscape for the drug nationwide.

“We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades,” Trump said. “This action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers seizure disorders, neurological problems, and more.”

The order instructs the Justice Department to begin the steps needed to shift cannabis to Schedule III, a tier reserved for drugs with accepted medical uses and lower abuse potential. Marijuana is currently labeled Schedule I, the government’s most restrictive class, alongside substances such as heroin and LSD.

Trump had discussed the plans with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz as he weighed his decision, according to people familiar with the move, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Trump also spoke with cannabis-industry leaders ahead of the decision, the people said, including Kim Rivers, chief executive officer of Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

The president’s decision delivers a major win to the industry, which conducted a years-long campaign for clearer federal rules. Rescheduling the drug could open the way for more clinical research and FDA-reviewed cannabis-based medicines, providing a clearer path to market for companies developing medical marijuana products and potentially attracting larger pharmaceutical companies into the sector.

It would also ease headaches for businesses in the industry by eliminating a punitive tax rule — known as 280E — that bars companies that deal in federally illegal substances from deducting ordinary expenses.

“The facts compel the federal government to recognize that marijuana can be legitimate in terms of medical applications when carefully administered,” Trump said. “In some cases, this may include the use as a substitute for addictive and potentially lethal opioid painkillers.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is also expected to complete a plan to test making some Medicare patients eligible for therapies derived from cannabinoids, the naturally occurring compounds in cannabis.

The initiative, which Bloomberg reported last month has been under development, is expected to begin in April 2026 and could allow coverage of products such as CBD, or cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating compound found in cannabis.

The proposal has been pushed by Howard Kessler, a payments financier close to the president who has advocated for expanded CBD access. He was among the cannabis-industry leaders who met with Trump on the plans to reschedule cannabis. Kessler and Rivers both attended the rollout Thursday in the Oval Office.

A spending bill Trump signed in November included language that could sharply restrict access to many hemp-derived CBD products that contain trace amounts of THC, marijuana’s intoxicating component. The White House is also expected to direct HHS to develop research methods to improve access to hemp-derived CBD, the official said. The move signals the White House will work with Congress to revise that language so that certain CBD products remain accessible after the ban takes effect in late 2026.

The President also urged Congress to clarify how it regulates CBD more broadly, saying lawmakers could “ensure seniors can access CBD products they have found beneficial for pain.”

Congress could move to regulate CBD as a dietary supplement, according to a senior White House official who briefed on the request on the condition of anonymity, putting it in the same category as over-the-counter products like melatonin or fish oil. The Biden-era FDA rejected three petitions asking the agency to change how it regulates CBD, urging Congress to instead craft its own framework. CBD is used as a remedy for sleep disorders, anxiety, pain and inflammation.

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