Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous addictive substance, a decision intended to encourage medical research without immediately opening the door to decriminalization at the federal level.
The American president asserted that "people were begging him" to make this decision, specifically mentioning people suffering from chronic pain.
This "is in no way a decriminalization" of marijuana for uses other than medical, he clarified before signing the decree.
"I always told my children, don't do drugs, don't drink, don't smoke," added Donald Trump.
This is a "common sense" decision, a senior government official told the press.
She noted that marijuana and CBD products (a molecule extracted from cannabis known for its relaxing properties) were already being used in the United States by many patients suffering from chronic pain.
The majority of US states allow the consumption of cannabis for medical purposes and more than 20 of them have also legalized its recreational use.
– Reduced constraints –
This announcement should in particular allow for more research into the risks of addiction linked to these substances, the official stated.
In addition, "millions" of beneficiaries of the public health insurance program for those over 65 (or Medicare) will be able to get free prescriptions for CBD products starting next spring, announced Mehmet Oz, who runs this health insurance program.
Although nearly three-quarters of Americans live in a state where this drug is legal, this new classification will maintain "criminalization at the federal level," noted Cat Packer, an official with the CRCC, a coalition of local officials involved in these issues, in a statement.
This announcement "falls far short of the necessary reforms," she lamented, asserting that "the American people overwhelmingly support the legalization and end of federal criminalization of cannabis."
However, this measure could have significant economic repercussions by easing the constraints on companies cultivating or marketing cannabis.
Specifically, marijuana must move from category 1, the highest in the classification, to category 3.
Category 1 includes heroin, LSD or ecstasy, while category 3 includes substances with a moderate to low risk of addiction such as certain codeine-based medications.
Cannabis, which is a derivative of hemp, was classified as a category 1 drug in 1970, under the influence of Republican President Richard Nixon who had declared an "all-out war on illegal drugs".
This proposed reclassification will nevertheless be subject to the decision of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Former Democratic President Joe Biden had pushed for such a measure, but this change failed to materialize.
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