The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) published a 195-page National Drug Control Strategy on Monday, warning of health risks tied to high-potency marijuana and alleging that transnational criminal organizations exploit state cannabis legalization laws. The document appeared weeks after the Trump administration announced plans to reschedule marijuana under federal law but contains no mention of that reform.
ONDCP reports that cannabis use disorder affected 20.6 million Americans—7.1 percent of those over age 12—in 2024, the top reason for addiction treatment among people under 20. The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that drug use disorders surpassed alcohol use disorders in the U.S. for the first time, driven chiefly by marijuana. The document also notes that the rate of marijuana smoking has surpassed tobacco use nationwide.
"The commercial marketing of addictive substances poses a major threat to youth health. Legal does not mean safe, and industries selling nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, and psychedelics have adopted strategies similar to Big Tobacco's historical targeting of young audiences," the strategy states. A California study cited in the document found a 1,800% rise in cannabis-associated emergency department visits among seniors over 65 between 2005 and 2019. The strategy claims marijuana was the top drug in toxicology reports of suicide victims under 25 in Colorado and San Diego.
The document singles out Chinese-linked criminal groups that ONDCP says run more than 80% of Oklahoma's marijuana and hemp farms. In 2023, Oklahoma's marijuana production exceeded its licensed medical demand by at least 32 times, with an estimated 85.5 million plants unaccounted for—evidence the strategy attributes to coordinated interstate black-market trafficking. Despite Trump's 2024 endorsement of a Florida marijuana legalization ballot measure, the strategy treats illicit cannabis distribution as a serious national threat.
On hemp, the strategy credits the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Act funding bill for FY 2026—signed by Trump—with closing the "hemp loophole." Products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container will be federally illegal after November 12, when Hemp Restriction regulations take effect, reclassifying delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, and THCP as Schedule I controlled substances. Trump has separately urged Congress to amend the ban to preserve full-spectrum CBD sales. ONDCP Director Sara Carter Bailey has previously voiced support for medical cannabis and said she has no personal objection to legalization if properly regulated.
