More than three months after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Justice to finalize a rule moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act “in the most expeditious manner,” no rule has materialized—prompting public pressure from longtime Trump advisor Roger Stone.
“Who is holding up President Trump’s order to reschedule marijuana?” Stone wrote in an April 9, 2026, social media post.
Stone said in a follow-up phone interview that completing rescheduling is “vitally important to get this done before the next election,” given the issue’s significance to younger and libertarian-leaning voters Republicans need to turn out to maintain their congressional majority.
Washington Examiner reporter Kaelan Deese contacted officials the same day and reported that “both the White House and the DOJ tell me they’re working on this but have offered no timeline.” A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the department “is working to implement the President’s executive order on rescheduling, and that work will continue.”
Trump last week fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, who opposed marijuana reform in Florida when she was that state’s attorney general, though cannabis was not cited as a factor in her dismissal. Todd Blanche—Trump’s former personal attorney and former deputy attorney general—is acting attorney general until a permanent replacement is confirmed.
During his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation process, Blanche said in response to a written question about marijuana rescheduling that he would “give the matter careful consideration after conferring with all relevant stakeholders, including [Drug Enforcement Administration] personnel.” Asked about aligning federal and state marijuana laws, he said “coordination between federal and state authorities is critically important” but that he had not yet studied the specific issue.
Stone has separately argued in an op-ed and on his radio show that Trump can outdo Democrats on marijuana by enacting reforms they failed to achieve when they controlled the White House and Congress.
