President Donald Trump’s first pick for attorney general in his second term, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), says he’s been advised that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is actively drafting a rule to complete the process of rescheduling marijuana “ASAP.”
It’s been over a month since Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to expeditiously finalize that process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Now, Gaetz says he has it on authority that DEA is taking steps to see that through.
“I have been told that the DEA is drafting this rule and moving it ASAP,” the former congressman, who stood out as a rare example of a Republican member who backed ending prohibition during his time on Capitol Hill, said in a post on X.
Earlier this week on Tuesday, the White House declined to comment on the status of the rescheduling process, deferring Marijuana Moment to the Justice Department, which has not responded to multiple requests for comments.
Industry stakeholders have been anxiously awaiting developments on the rescheduling matter, and Gaetz’s post has renewed some hopes that a final action could be imminent. But the former congressman has built a reputation for drumming up that hope during this administration.
Last May, for example, he said that “meaningful” marijuana reform was “on the horizon” under the Trump administration, praising the president’s “leadership” in supporting rescheduling.
Meanwhile, the White House last week held up Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to complete the process of marijuana rescheduling as an example of one of his “wins” during his first year back in office.
“In just 365 days, President Trump has delivered truly transformative results with the most accomplished first year of any presidential term in modern history,” an article posted on the White House website said. It then went on to list “365 wins from President Trump’s first 365 days back in office.”
Number 305 on the list read: “Signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III, accelerating medical research and patient access.”
DOJ has so far not provided any updates or timelines on the rescheduling process since Trump issued his executive order last month, and Bondi—who has historically opposed marijuana reform—was not present at the signing ceremony.
A Democratic senator told Marijuana Moment earlier this month that it’s “too early to tell” what the implications of Trump’s cannabis order would be—saying that while there are “things that look promising” about it, he is “very concerned about where the DOJ will land.”
“The ability of the Trump administration to speak out of both sides of their mouth is staggering,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said. “So I’m just going to wait and see right now. Obviously, there’s things that look promising—to end generations of injustice. I really want to wait and see.”
Also this month, two GOP senators filed an amendment to block the Trump administration from rescheduling cannabis, but it was not considered on the floor.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, DEA said the cannabis rescheduling appeal process “remains pending” despite Trump’s executive order.
A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report discussed how DOJ could, in theory, reject the president’s directive or delay the process by restarting the scientific review into marijuana.
Bondi separately missed a congressionally mandated deadline last week to issue guidelines for easing barriers to research on Schedule I substances such as marijuana and psychedelics.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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