Donald Trump relaxes US federal policy on marijuana, an “action that has been needed for decades.” “We have people begging me to do this”

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday removing cannabis from the category of the most dangerous drugs, such as heroin, and placing the psychoactive plant on a list that includes common painkillers and substances such as testosterone and ketamine, according to Reuters. The New York Times (NYT) explained that the measure facilitates research and relaxes other restrictions, but does not actually legalize marijuana.

It is one of the most significant changes to the tough federal policy that has targeted cannabis for decades and could reshape the industry, lead to reduced criminal penalties and unlock billions of dollars in research funding.

“We have people begging me to do this, people who are in great distress. For decades, this action has been demanded by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizures, neurological problems, including many veterans with service-related injuries or older Americans living with chronic problems and a severely degraded quality of life,” President Donald Trump said.

Marijuana, still illegal federally

Marijuana will remain illegal under federal policy and will continue to be subject to a patchwork of local laws across the country, with both states where possession and use are completely legal and states where it is completely illegal.

The measure announced by Trump will also not affect law enforcement's approach to making arrests in such cases, senior administration officials, who spoke about the order on condition of anonymity, told the NYT.

The classification of cannabis among the most dangerous substances has long been criticized, and the reclassification shows that the federal government recognizes that the plant has some medicinal value.

Trump's order follows steps taken by the Biden administration to reclassify the drug, which signals a shift in the way both Republican and Democratic administrations view the substance in the federal government.

However, there are also officials who opposed the reclassification. A total of eight Republican senators and 26 members of the same party in the House of Representatives recently sent a letter to this effect to Trump. CatholicVote, a conservative non-profit, also lobbied the president against the change.

“Given the documented dangers of marijuana, facilitating the growth of the marijuana industry is inconsistent with growing our economy and encouraging healthy lifestyles for Americans,” the senators wrote.