Trump Signs Executive Order 14370 Directing the Justice Department to Expedite Rescheduling Marijuana to Schedule III
President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14370, Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research, at the White House in Washington on December 18, 2025. The order makes it the policy of the administration to increase medical marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) research, and directs the Attorney General to take all necessary steps to complete, in the most expeditious manner and in accordance with federal law, the rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The order itself does not change marijuana's classification, which takes effect only once the Justice Department completes the rulemaking process.
The order recounts how the process arrived here. The Food and Drug Administration completed a review in 2023 and found scientific support for marijuana's use to treat anorexia related to a medical condition, nausea and vomiting, and pain. The Department of Health and Human Services recommended that year that the Drug Enforcement Administration control marijuana under Schedule III. The Justice Department issued a proposed rescheduling rule in May 2024 that drew nearly 43,000 public comments and is awaiting an administrative law hearing. Schedule I drugs are defined as having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, while Schedule III drugs have a currently accepted medical use and a lower potential for abuse, the order says.
Figures cited in the order include regulated medical marijuana programs in 40 states plus the District of Columbia; more than 30,000 licensed health care practitioners across 43 jurisdictions authorized to recommend medical marijuana to more than 6 million registered patients for at least 15 medical conditions; and chronic pain affecting nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults and more than 1 in 3 seniors, with 6 in 10 medical marijuana users reporting they use it to manage pain.
The order also directs the Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs to work with Congress to update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products so Americans can access appropriate full-spectrum CBD products, while preserving Congress's intent to restrict products that pose serious health risks. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health are directed to develop research methods and models using real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products and inform standards of care.
(Source: The White House)
Source: The White House
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: GSM 行政令统一模板（美国总统行政令）
