President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, marking a major milestone in American drug policy and choosing sides in the debate between advocates for more research and drug policy hawks.
Under the new classification, marijuana will remain an illegal drug under federal law. But the move could facilitate additional research into cannabis, federal officials said, even as others warned it would also boost the marijuana industry by allowing major tax breaks that were prohibited under the substance’s current classification.
