President Donald Trump said Monday his administration is looking at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug with potentially lower criminal penalties.
Trump made the comments to reporters at the White House. Trump first reportedly broached reclassification at a fundraiser at his New Jersey golf club earlier this month.
"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," Trump said during a press conference to announce the deployment of the National Guard to Washington, D.C.
"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," he added.
Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, on par with heroin and LSD. Further, Schedule I drugs are listed as "no accepted medical use." Meanwhile, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl are among the Schedule II drugs.
In May 2024, the Biden administration announced it would reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug, which includes steroids and Tylenol with codeine, but didn't get it done ahead of the election.
Nearly 40 states, and the District of Columbia, have legalized marijuana for medical use, and nearly three dozen states and D.C. have made it fully legal.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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