President Donald Trump is said he is “looking” at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug after new reporting showed he supported the change.
The president confirmed it was still in the early stages during a press briefing Monday, but the matter comes as Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., to tackle crime in the nation’s capital.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Trump is considering reclassifying marijuana after companies involved in the legalization and research industries donated millions to the president’s political groups.
Fox News correspondent Mark Meredith asked Trump during the briefing Monday about the recent report and how it juxtaposes his crackdown on crime in Washington.
“We’re only looking at that. That’s early,” Trump replied, later adding, “We’re looking at it. Some people like it, some people hate it.”
Trump added that his administration is looking at reclassification and likely would not make a decision for a “few years.”
Today, 24 states have legalized the medicinal or recreational use of marijuana. Thirteen others, including Utah, have legalized the medical use of marijuana only. Other territories have legalized both uses, but the federal government still classifies it as a Schedule I drug.
The Biden administration began examining reclassifying marijuana to be a drug easier to be sold and purchased but did not come to a conclusion before leaving office in January.
“That determination, hopefully, will be the right one,” Trump said, noting how complicated the subject of marijuana is. “I’ve heard great things having to do with medical, and I’ve heard bad things having to do with just about everything else but medical.”
The Journal reported that at a million-dollar fundraiser at Trump’s New Jersey golf club earlier this month, he told attendees he would be interested in the change. Some attendees included Kim Rivers, the leader of one of the country’s largest marijuana companies, who has encouraged the president to expand research into the drug.
It’s been a yearslong effort for the organizations involved to reclassify marijuana from a severe classification of Schedule I to Schedule III. Former President Biden vowed to decriminalize the drug if he was elected in 2020.
The process could take several months once an administration begins the process, with the White House Office of Management and Budget needing to sign off on a proposal, moving it to public comment and final approval of the rule.
Public opinion according to surveys has largely leaned in favor of marijuana legalization and could boost Trump’s approval rating, particularly among younger voters. A senior Trump administration official told the Journal that the president is interested in taking on issues that the broader public supports, but the president himself has not expressed enthusiasm for rescheduling the drug.
“Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana, because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children, but we’re looking at reclassification,” Trump said from the briefing room Monday.