Trump Issues EO Rescheduling Marijuana to Schedule III Drug

President Trump signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to “take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the CSA in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law.” If fully adopted, marijuana would be scheduled on par with steroids and codeine medications mixed with Tylenol.

The move seeks to reclassify cannabis out of Schedule I, loosening limits on research and other regulations while stopping short of full legalization. Rescheduling will not happen automatically because of the order, as it will still need to be done through the federal rulemaking process.

The order will also make cannabis easier for Medicare and Medicaid recipients to get by introducing a model that would cover medically recommended products with CBD, a non-intoxicating compound that comes from hemp, a close relative of marijuana, at no cost for seniors. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries will be able to purchase regulated hemp-derived products. These benefits would start next year.

In the interim, CMS will begin collecting data on patients using cannabis products. Similarly, HHS will conduct research to improve access to products made with CBD, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair has been charged with working with Congress on improving access to CBD products.