According to the White House, rescheduling marijuana is not one of the drug policy priorities of Donald Trump for his first year in office.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) statement says that the first six priorities are primarily focused on fighting drug trafficking, and reducing the opioid epidemic.
As the rescheduling of hearings by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which was started under Biden’s administration, stalled, stakeholders and advocates hoped that Trump, who had endorsed the reform during the election campaign last year, would push to complete it.
However, so far the President has not spoken out on this issue. Instead, it appears that the Administration plans to focus its drug policies on treatment, prevention and enforcement.
ONDCP released its first-year Drug Policy Priorities. Read them here:https://t.co/ishG8ukpWz
— ONDCP (@ONDCP) April 4, 2025
The White House does not include cannabis reform on its list of priorities, but it doesn’t indicate any hostile plans for marijuana, or other drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamines. It also mentions cocaine, heroin, xylazine and fentanyl in the document. This will be a great relief to advocates, given that the White House is focusing on strengthening enforcement of other illegal substances.
There are also elements of the plan which reformers might welcome. These include expanding access to opioid overdose reversal drugs naloxone as well as encouraging states to increase the number of drug testing strips available.
Jon Rice (a senior ONDCP officer performing duties as director) said, “Terrorists… cartels… and other drug-traffickers poison Americans to make money” in a release. The Trump Administration has launched a unprecedented, whole-of government effort in order to prevent these drugs from reaching our communities.
This framework outlines the first steps in kicking cartels from our country and freeing Americans from their deadly addiction. It also aims to guide America towards health and safety.
Here are six of the Trump administration’s top drug-policy priorities for its first year.
- Fentanyl can help reduce the number of overdose fatalities
- Protect the Global Supply Chain Against Drug Trafficking
- We must stop the flow of drugs across our borders and into our communities
- Stop drug abuse before it starts
- Offer Treatment that Leads to Long-Term Recover
- Research and Data Innovation to Support Drug Control Strategies
According to the ONDCP press release, the President’s priorities are expected to continue “evolving” past this list. However, future goals will be based on a “changing landscape in illicit drug trafficking, as well as ensuring that our communities, schools and borders remain safe from the harmful influence of illicit substances.”
While the administration stressed the importance of promoting strategies to mitigate opioid addiction and overdoses, advocates have long made the case that access to medical cannabis could be one tool in the toolbox considering that multiple studies have found that access to legal marijuana is associated with decreased incidents of opioid use and overdose deaths—and so the total omission of cannabis from the new plan could be seen by reformers as a missed opportunity. Trump has expressed his support for the use of medical marijuana.
Sara Carter is the nominee of President Obama for a permanent ONDCP Director. However, it’s not clear if her nomination will be confirmed. The would-be drug czar has called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.
The White House announced that the Administration has no plans to take action on the marijuana reform proposal. Many hoped that the president, in addition to pushing for rescheduling cannabis reform proposals, would also press for banking access for the industry, which he had voiced his support for during campaign.
CNN’s report from this week cited sources who said that Trump tried, late last summer before taking office, to have cannabis banking included in government funding legislation. But that effort did not materialize.
Meanwhile, although Trump himself has not publicly spoken about marijuana policy since taking office for his second term, the White House said in a recent fact sheet about an executive order he signed that the move to decriminalize marijuana in Washington, D.C. is an example of a “failed” policy that “opened the door to disorder.”
A marijuana-funded political action (PAC) has launched new advertisements that attack Biden’s record on cannabis policies as well as Canada. The ads promote sometimes false claims regarding the previous administration, while arguing for Trump to deliver reform.
The background is that cannabis activists and stakeholders pay close attention to Trump’s cabinet choices. Key officials have either been Senate-confirmed or are in the process of confirmation. However, they all hold mixed records when it comes to marijuana issues.
The Senate has confirmed the choice of Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney-General. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. As attorney general of Florida, Bondi opposed the legalization of medical marijuana.
Adding to the ongoing uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal Biden initiated, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
Trump recently nominated a vociferously anti-cannabis official to serve as the lead attorney at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), drawing praise from prohibitionists.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was vocal in his previous support of marijuana legalization, unlike the HHS nominee for general counsel, Mike Stuart.
Despite that stated support, however, following his confirmation Kennedy said in February that he is “worried about” the normalization of high-potency marijuana and that he feels its use can have “really catastrophic impacts” on people, but that state-level legalization can facilitate research into its harms and benefits.
Despite Kennedy’s history of advocating for cannabis legalization, he said in February that he will defer to DEA on marijuana rescheduling in his new role.
Trump also nominated former Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to head up the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—a choice that raises questions about how the agency might navigate marijuana issues given his prior record of voting against medical cannabis access for military veterans during his time in Congress.
The president has also appointed Alice Johnson, whose sentence for a drug-related conviction he commuted in his first term, to a new role as the nation’s “pardon czar” responsible for facilitating future clemency actions.
Department of Veterans Affairs Seeks Help Explaining And Analyzing Medical Marijuana’s Risks And Benefits