News: Trump Administration Reclassifies Cannabis as Less Dangerous.

Published 10 AM EST, Fri Apr 24, 2026

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday changed the classifications of products containing marijuana that are covered by the Food and Drug Administration or that have received a state medical-marijuana licence. They will move from a Schedule I narcotic like heroin to a Schedule III drug - on par with Tylenol with codeine.

---

---

The US Department of Justice has officially reclassified certain cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III, a landmark shift in federal drug policy. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the order covering FDA-regulated products and state-licensed medical marijuana, moving them from the same category as heroin to one comparable to Tylenol with codeine. He also called a June hearing to consider reclassifying all marijuana more broadly. While marijuana remains federally illegal, the change fulfills a directive from President Trump and follows years of state-level legalization that created a fragmented regulatory landscape across the country.

The reclassification carries symbolic weight but has real procedural limits. Once published in the Federal Register, the rule takes 30 days to take effect, a window in which it can be legally challenged and potentially delayed for years. The shift builds on momentum started under the Biden administration, which initiated a classification review in 2022, leading to a health department recommendation for change and a DEA hearing process that was ultimately postponed. The current action represents the furthest any administration has moved toward federal reform.

Advocacy groups welcome the step but see it as incomplete. Organizations like NORML argue the real goal is full federal de-scheduling, noting that Schedule III status still leaves cannabis under federal restrictions that complicate banking, taxation, and interstate commerce for businesses. More than two-thirds of Americans now support full legalization, and advocates say removing the Schedule I label at least opens the door to more substantive policy conversations that were previously shut down by the drug's most restrictive classification.

For the cannabis seedbank, genetics, and breeding industry, this reclassification carries meaningful strategic implications. Schedule III status legitimizes cannabis as a substance with accepted medical use, which strengthens the scientific and commercial case for documented, traceable genetics, precisely the foundation that professional seedbanks and breeders provide. Expanded research access means universities, biotech firms, and pharmaceutical companies will increasingly seek verified, stable, and well-characterized cultivars, creating new B2B demand channels beyond recreational retail. For companies operating internationally, supplying genetics to markets in Europe, North America, and beyond, US federal legitimacy reduces reputational and logistical friction and may accelerate regulatory alignment across jurisdictions. Perhaps most importantly, the shift signals that the era of treating cannabis genetics as a grey-market commodity is closing; intellectual property protections, variety registration, and formal breeding documentation are becoming not just best practices but competitive necessities.

Source: BBC