The steps are the latest example of a shift away from heavy penalties that have been replaced by broader legalization efforts.
Published April 23, 2026
The United States has announced that it will reclassify state-approved medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug. This is in line with the growing trend away from penalties for possession.
The Justice Department clarified Thursday that the changes do not legalize recreational or medical marijuana under federal law.
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However, it would move certain marijuana products from the Schedule I category of the federal government’s five-tier drug control system to the less restrictive Schedule III category.
Schedule III covers substances that have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
“This change in timeline will allow for more research into the safety and effectiveness of this substance, ultimately providing better care to patients and more reliable information to physicians,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Supporters of deregulation have long argued that classifying marijuana as a highly addictive drug, like heroin, has led to disproportionate arrest and incarceration rates.
They also note that some patients describe medical benefits from marijuana use and that there are low barriers to marijuana-related research.
Blanche previously said the U.S. government had expedited the process for a broader reclassification of cannabis, with public hearings expected to begin in June.
Once the focus of law enforcement efforts that involved millions of people in the U.S. criminal justice system, marijuana has gradually become accepted into the mainstream in recent years.
In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order asking the Justice Department to loosen marijuana regulations. Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had taken similar steps to reclassify marijuana, but the process was not completed by the time he leaves office in January 2025.
Marijuana is now legal in some form in 40 states in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that one in five people in the United States reports using marijuana in the past year.
In a 2024 poll by Pew Research Center, 57% of U.S. adults said marijuana should be legal for both recreational and medical purposes, while 32% said it should be legal only for medical purposes. Only 11% said the drug should not be legal at all.
Companies offering cannabis products have also become a lucrative industry, with market research firm BDSA predicting legal sales of $47 billion in 2026.
