Petition Asks Trump to Remove Cannabis From Federal Drug Schedule
The Drug Policy Alliance is seeking signatures for a petition that asks the Trump administration to deschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), rather than rescheduling it to Schedule III, saying descheduling “is the only way to truly end federal marijuana prohibition.”
The petition notes that during the 2024 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump (R) said he believed it was time to end arrests for cannabis and incarceration for low-level possession.
“Anything less than descheduling falls short because it will continue criminalizing people for marijuana. It will leave everyday Americans at risk of being arrested, incarcerated, and saddled with criminal records that can create lifelong barriers to housing, jobs, and so much more. We can’t let these harms go on! That’s why we hope you will deschedule marijuana to end federal marijuana criminalization once and for all and deliver on what the American people want and deserve.” — Drug Policy Alliance, in the petition
The organization says that descheduling cannabis completely under federal law would end federal criminal penalties, advance expungements for those with cannabis convictions, protect public health and consumer safety, and that cannabis-derived tax revenues would be invested in communities harmed by prohibition.
Earlier this month, President Trump reportedly told donors during a dinner fundraiser at his private club in Bedminster, New Jersey that he is considering rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the CSA. During a press conference two weeks ago, Trump said the administration was “looking at reclassification” and would “make a determination over the next few weeks.”
A plan to reschedule cannabis under the CSA was first pitched by former President Joe Biden (D) last May but stalled in January when Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge John Mulrooney, who was presiding over the hearings, decided to let the incoming Trump administration choose whether to reinitiate the process. Mulrooney recently retired, leaving the issue solely with DEA Administrator Terrance Cole.