In major drug policy shift, Trump signs order expanding access to medical marijuana

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug.

Prior to the order, marijuana was controlled under Schedule I of US law.

Schedule I drugs are defined as substances with no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

Schedule III drugs are classified as having a potential for abuse lower than the drugs or other substances in Schedules I and II, and they are considered to have currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US.

“The Federal Government’s long delay in recognizing the medical use of marijuana does not serve the Americans who report health benefits from the medical use of marijuana to ease chronic pain and other various medically recognized ailments,” the executive order reads.

Marijuana will remain illegal at the federal level. But classifying it as a Schedule III narcotic would allow expanded research to be conducted into its potential benefits.

“This is really something having to do with common sense,” Trump said in the Oval Office before signing the order on Thursday.

“It doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form or and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” the US president clarified, adding that the order is aimed at helping people struggling with chronic pain.

The memo asked White House aides to work with Congress to allow access to “appropriate full-spectrum CBD products”.(The Cable)