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Business and personal
45th and 47th President of the United States Tenure
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Thesecond Donald Trump administration saw an executive order toremove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, commonly known as marijuana rescheduling. As of January 2026[update], rescheduling has not been completed.
Trump made severalcampaign promises to allowU.S. states to individually determine the legality of cannabis on their own accord.[1] He has frequently voiced that cannabis should be astates' rights issue, despite repeating "marijuana opened the door to disorder in Washington, D.C." in a fact sheet signed off by Trump personally.[2] He also voted yes onAmendment 3 which would have allowed adult-use recreational cannabis legalization in his home state of Florida.[3]
Trump nominatedSara A. Carter to be the director of theOffice of National Drug Control Policy (or "drug czar") in March 2025.[4] Carter's background was "not in drug policy, public health, or law enforcement, and she has never served in government".[5] During her September 2025 U.S. Senate confirmation hearings, she stated that she would "comply with all federal laws" regarding enforcement, and "explore all options" relative to cannabis rescheduling process begun in the Biden administration.[6]
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., before he was brought into the administration to leadU.S. Department of Health and Human Services, had "a long track record of supporting drug policy reform, including cannabis reform",[7] and duringhis 2024 presidential campaign, had said that "he wanted to legalize marijuana".[8]
"Well-known drug-policy lawyer"Matthew Zorn, who had previously worked on cannabis issues, was hired to be "psychedelics czar" atDepartment of Health and Human Services in May.[9]
Behind-the-doors lobbying of the administration by representatives ofcannabis industry and civil cannabis reform entities began almost as soon as the second administration commenced. BusinesspeopleHoward Kessler andKim Rivers (CEO ofTrulieve) were listed byPolitico as influential on the administration's decision making process.[10]
In August 2025, the administration announced it would make a rescheduling decision "in weeks".[11]
Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act was subject of anExecutive Order 14370, signed on December 18, 2025, which BBC report called "the most significant shift in US drug policy in decades".[12] The executive order section 2 directed U.S. Attorney GeneralPam Bondi to "take all necessary steps" to carry out rescheduling "in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law".[13] These actions are expected in 2026, followed by a public comment period, though the Attorney General may interpret the "expeditious" order to waive public comment.[14] In any case, rescheduling will likely face court challenges from opponents of the policy; at least one industry newsletter said lawsuits were "guaranteed" and namedSmart Approaches to Marijuana as having retained legal assets to do so as of December 22, 2025.[15]
The White House website listed goals of EO 14370 as including "to work with the Congress to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products", to be carried out byWhite House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs (James Blair) and "to develop research methods and models utilizing real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products in accordance with Federal law and to inform standards of care", to be carried out byDepartment of Health and Human Services.[16]
Industry observers said that the administration's stance onhemp was "refreshing" but "felt whiplash, as the White House seemed to contradict the hemp ban Congress wrote into the funding bill" that ended the2025 United States federal government shutdown.[17]
Trump announced he backs President Joe Biden's efforts to loosen federal marijuana restrictions and will vote for a ballot initiative that would legalize cannabis use for adults in the Sunshine State. He also laid out his support for federal legislation to give states more control over legalizing weed and expand access to banking services for cannabis companies...it was the first time he embraced specific policies to liberalize marijuana laws.
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