President Donald Trump’s administration has loosened federal restrictions on medical marijuana, with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announcing that the policy places FDA-approved marijuana products in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

The move is directed under Mr Trump’s December 18, 2025, Executive Order on expanding medical marijuana and cannabidiol research.

The DOJ announced that its department and the DEA had also started a review process to consider fully moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, a category that allows recognised medical use and easier access to marijuana for research and prescriptions.

A formal hearing on the rescheduling proposal is set to begin on June 29.

The Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the decision reflects a “common-sense approach,” noting that the change was intended to improve research and provide patients with better care as well as doctors with more reliable information.

“The Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s promise to expand Americans’ access to medical treatment options,” he said.

The DEA Administrator Terry Cole said the agency would move forward with the new hearing process while maintaining its enforcement focus on illegal drug trafficking and the fentanyl epidemic. 

The DOJ also withdrew earlier rulemaking proceedings to move “more efficiently toward the completion of marijuana’s complete redesignation.”