Trump
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order which would reclassify marijuana from Schedule I down to Schedule III, placing it in the same category as Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone, rather than drugs such as heroin and LSD.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Schedule III substances carry a moderate to low risk of physical or psychological dependency, unlike Schedule I which contains substances considered to be high risk and of no medical use.
The reclassification doesn’t make marijuana federally legal for recreational use, but it does open the door for more medical and scientific research.
Normally, a drug reclassification is pursued by the DEA, involves public comment, and can take many years to come to fruition; the president’s executive order is expected to speed up the process in this case.
Rokita
Although a majority of Americans – now 68 percent – favor marijuana legalization, many Republicans still do not, including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, whose office released this statement Thursday afternoon:
Since before President Trump took office, many of us – the Attorneys General of Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming – have argued against the rescheduling of marijuana as a Schedule I drug. See July 2024 Comment of Nebraska and 10 Other States.
We all believe the science surrounding marijuana – which has become only more clear in recent weeks – properly establishes it as a Schedule I drug, and we have seen firsthand the harm the drug has caused in our communities. The negative impacts of expanded marijuana use, especially on children and adolescents, are worrisome. And the public policy challenges, such as the exponential increase in difficult-to-combat driving under the influence, are both significant and serious.
We have conveyed our concerns to the Administration, and we are grateful for the Administration’s good faith consideration of our views.
Because of our long-held views, we are concerned with the issuance of this Executive Order, which directs the Attorney General to “take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III.” We will evaluate the order closely to determine how we can best continue to engage, protect the public health, and ensure the safety of our citizens.
