Legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to exceed US$47 billion in 2026, according to market researcher BDSA.
After Trump’s December order, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services began allowing some eligible Medicare beneficiaries to use hemp-derived products, including cannabidiol, or CBD, under clinician guidance.
Trump said on Thursday that further legislative action was still needed. In a Truth Social post, he called on Congress to update the law to ensure access to the “full-spectrum” of CBD products, while preserving Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose Health risks.
Marijuana remains the most widely used illicit drug in both the United States and globally. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly one in five US residents uses it in a year.
Millions of Americans have been arrested for marijuana possession, even as listed companies have built businesses around cannabis-related products.
The Biden administration pursued a similar reclassification effort in 2024, but it was not finalised before Trump returned to office. The US Drug Enforcement Administration later scrapped that effort.
The Justice Department said it would begin proceedings on June 29 to gather evidence and expert opinion on the proposed reclassification.
Critics of marijuana legalisation argue that looser rules could increase drug use among minors, weaken workplace productivity and create greater traffic safety risks.
Dozens of Republicans in Congress objected in December when Trump ordered the Justice Department to ease regulations. Reaction was more muted on Thursday, although Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, warned that the change would make it easier for Americans to use what he described as a still-dangerous drug.
“Marijuana today is much more potent than just ten or twenty years ago, leading to increased psychosis, anti-social behaviour, and fatal car crashes,” Cotton said in a social media post. “A change to marijuana’s drug classification is a step in the wrong direction.”
Reuters
