Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump is Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research

Ghoti Ichthus · Saturday at 2:32 AM

Reclassifying Marijuana as Schedule 3 instead of Schedule 1 will allow military and VA doctors to prescribe medical marijuana. Before this change, doctors in Federal facilities can't legally prescribe marijuana, even if State and local laws allowed medical marijuana.

This does not legalize recreational marijuana.

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump is Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research

The White House
December 16, 2025

"RECOGNIZING AND IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL USES OF MARIJUANA AND CANNABIDIOL FOR PATIENTS AND DOCTORS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order that will improve medical marijuana and cannabidiol research to better inform patients and doctors.

The Order directs the Attorney General to expedite completion of the process of rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).
The Order directs the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs to work with the Congress to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while still restricting the sale of products that pose serious health risks.
The Order directs HHS 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.

REMOVING BARRIERS TO RESEARCH: Rescheduling marijuana corrects the Federal government’s long delay in recognizing the medical use of marijuana and will vastly improve research on safety and efficacy.

Marijuana is currently controlled as a Schedule I substance, which is defined as having no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.
Rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III is consistent with the 2023 recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that recognized for the first time that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use."

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