President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reclassify marijuana, which is currently designated as a “Schedule I” drug. While President Trump’s executive order opens a pathway for potential federal scientific research of marijuana, the plant is still considered federally illegal.
On Thursday (December 18), President Trump signed the executive order that could open a channel to marijuana and cannabidiol (CBD) research. While the move doesn’t exactly deschedule the plant from its “Schedule I” designation.
As explained on the DEA.gov website, “Schedule I” drugs was defined as, “substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.”
If the drug is rescheduled to the third tier, the Federal Drug Administration could apply research efforts to study its health and therapeutic benefits, with the executive order citing how patients have used marijuana to good effect.
This comes as the recent government spending bill included a provision that would effectively end the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which hemp farmers across the United States have said helped bring billions to their industry, with the risk of losing it all.
Read President Trump’s executive order here.
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