President Donald Trump publicly expressed frustration Saturday that the Department of Justice is "slow-walking" marijuana rescheduling, more than four months after he signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act "in the most expeditious manner."
"You're going to get the rescheduling done, right, please? Will you get the rescheduling done, please?" Trump said to an unidentified DOJ or White House official during an Oval Office event. "You know, they're slow-walking me on rescheduling. You're going to get it done, right?"
Trump did not name cannabis explicitly, and the official he addressed was not identified. The comments came during a signing ceremony for an executive order expanding psychedelics research to broaden clinical access to substances including psilocybin, ibogaine, LSD, and MDMA.
Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone has said someone inside the administration is "holding up" completion of the cannabis rescheduling proposal.
Trump this month fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had opposed marijuana reform while serving as Florida's attorney general, though cannabis does not appear to have been central to her removal. Todd Blanche—previously Trump's personal attorney and deputy attorney general—is now acting AG pending confirmation of a permanent replacement.
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 had the opportunity to study this particular issue," adding: "If confirmed, I will consult with the necessary stakeholders and give this matter careful consideration."
