In mid-December 2025, reports emerged that President Donald Trump is preparing to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
This move would acknowledge marijuana's accepted medical uses and lower abuse potential compared to drugs like heroin or LSD. It would ease barriers to research, provide tax relief to state-legal cannabis businesses by ending IRS Section 280E penalties, and potentially open doors for prescription access.
However, multiple sources emphasize that rescheduling would ‘not’ legalize or decriminalize marijuana federally, recreational use would remain illegal under federal law, and enforcement conflicts with states could persist.
This development marks a notable shift for a Republican president, aligning with Trump's campaign statements supporting states' rights on cannabis and his personal vote in favor of Florida's (ultimately failed) recreational legalization ballot measure. But it stops well short of full legalization. The bigger question now is: Should Trump push further and legalize weed at the federal level?
The case for yes is strong and multifaceted. First, public opinion has decisively shifted. Around 70% of Americans now support legalization, cutting across party lines, with even majorities of Republicans in favor in recent polls. Ignoring this would be politically tone-deaf, especially as younger voters and libertarians—key demographics Trump courted in 2024—overwhelmingly back reform.
Economically, federal legalization could be a boon. The legal cannabis industry already generates billions in state tax revenue and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Removing federal prohibitions would allow full banking access (via reforms like the SAFE Banking Act), attract more investment, and shrink the illicit market, which still dominates in many areas. Trump's pro-business instincts and "America First" agenda should favor unleashing this homegrown industry rather than letting it operate in legal gray zones.
From a criminal justice perspective, the War on Drugs has been a costly failure. Millions have been arrested for marijuana offenses, disproportionately affecting minority communities and clogging courts with nonviolent cases. Full legalization, paired with expungement, would address these injustices something Trump has nodded to in the past with first-step criminal reform efforts.
Trump's emphasis on states' rights also supports legalization. Twenty-four states plus D.C. have already legalized recreational marijuana, and more are moving toward it. Federal prohibition creates unnecessary conflicts: raids on state-compliant businesses, banking restrictions, and research hurdles. De-scheduling marijuana entirely or at a minimum, fully deferring to states, would resolve this tension without imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate.
On the other side, opponents argue that legalization sends the wrong message, especially to youth. Evidence shows increased adolescent use in legalized states, alongside rises in cannabis-related ER visits and impaired driving incidents. Critics, including some in Trump's own party, call marijuana a "gateway drug" and worry about mental health links, particularly psychosis in heavy users. Big Cannabis could mirror Big Tobacco, pushing potent products for profit.
These concerns are valid but overstated. Alcohol and tobacco—both legal—pose greater public health risks, yet are regulated successfully. A federal framework could impose age limits, potency caps, and DUI standards, mitigating harms better than prohibition ever did. International treaties complicate full de-scheduling, but rescheduling (Trump's current path) already bends those rules, and legalization could follow with diplomatic adjustments.
Ultimately, should Trump legalize weed federally, by supporting congressional de-scheduling while respecting state variation. He plans to reschedule some calls; it is a pragmatic step forward—pro-business, pro-research, and politically savvy—or is it a step backwards?
Would full legalization deliver economic growth, justice reform, and consistency with the public will, without forcing anyone to use it? Or would it open the proverbial Pandora's box? In an era of divided government, Trump has a rare chance to claim bipartisan wins on an issue ripe for resolution, but should he seize it?
Final Word: Is this a good move for President Trump and America?
Please give your opinion in the comment section below.
Replies
NO, NO a thousand times NO!!!
What about controlled medical use?
I agree with Janet.
I have witnessed first hand what Marijuana does to the brain with PCB build-up on the brain stem, thus I vote NO on legalizing it. I do agree wiht Michael Duncan that it should be allowed as a prescription medication ONLY! The fact that so many minority communities have been arrested for Marijuana is not a good argument for keeping it illegal. These same minority communities have been drawing benefits from federal welfare programs, yet they have the money to purchase illicit drugs. If we want to Make America Great Again, we must drastically reduce the availability of illicit drugs in America (President Trump is doing that with closing the borders and striking drug boats) and then crack down hard on users and distributors of illicit drugs in America. America needs clear headed, rational, citizens who are capable of holding a job if we are ever going to pay off the National Debt while rebuilding a World Class Military (which we do not have at the moment). One final point, poor black Americans have been kept on the Demoncrat Plantation for too long through welfare programs and drug use. If this community is to recover and be all they can be as Americans, they must break this cycle. Stop welfare, crack down on drug use, invest in job training, kick the real Church in the behind to minister truth to this community and they will find themselves and once again have complete families (Husband, Wife, Children in wedlock) and be major contributors to American Greatness.
COL, GREAT POST, AGREE 100%
AND I'll double it!!!
NO! It's stronger and more dangerous than your grandfather's weed, it is addictive and there's no good reason to legalize it! It leads to no good, it ruins the mind, it affects the physiology, it's a gateway drug that leads to no good!
NO, UNLESS THEY HAVE PRESCRIBE MEDICATION!
Yep!!!
CBD as prescribed medication is ok with me, but weed for everybody is a drugged society!
On one hand, we are blowing up Venezuela drug boats, on the other, we are legalizing drugs in the US. WTF!
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next