Everything we know so far as Trump looks to change marijuana laws in US and it could have major impact

Marijuana could be dropped from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III.

As it stands, cannabis is illegal at a federal level but numerous states have legalized it for medical purposes. As well as this, 24 states have legalized it for recreational use.

Marijuana was made a Schedule I drug in the 1970s. These type of narcotics are seen as highly addictive and dangerous, and marijuana joins the likes of heroin, ecstasy and LSD in this category.

But now, there's been suggestions that cannabis be made a Schedule III drug, which are considered less likely to be abused.

When was the idea first brought forward?

The Department of Justice first sent its proposal to the White House Office on Management and Budget (OMB) back in May.

Donald Trump has weighed in on the idea of reclassifying weed (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

"The Justice Department today announced that the Attorney General has submitted to the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking initiating a formal rulemaking process to consider moving marijuana from a schedule I to schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)," it said in a statement at the time.

The announcement went on: "Marijuana has been classified as a schedule I drug since Congress enacted the CSA in 1970. On Oct. 6, 2022, President Biden asked the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to launch a scientific review of how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.

"After receiving HHS’s recommendations last August, the Attorney General sought the legal advice of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on questions relevant to this rulemaking. In light of HHS’ medical and scientific determinations, and OLC’s legal advice, the Attorney General exercised his authority under the law to initiate the rulemaking process to transfer marijuana to schedule III."

What has Trump said about it?

Speaking at news conference yesterday (August 11), President Trump was asked about the rumors that the administration might reclassify cannabis.

"We're looking at it," he replied. "Some people like it, some people hate it — some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.

"But we're looking at reclassification, and we'll make a determination over the next, I would say, over the next few weeks — and that determination hopefully will be the right one."

Trump went on to say it was a 'complicated subject' as there are both pros and cons to marijuana.

What would reclassification mean?

Dr Carl Hart, a psychologist and neuroscientist from Columbia University who specialises in drug use and addiction, has weighed in on the matter.

He explained to BBC News: "When you legalise a compound, far more people would go to the legal market, just because it's simple and people don't have access to the black market. The illicit market would certainly dwindle."

Dr Hart continued to note the cannabis-related arrests would decrease, which he hailed as an 'important' factor.

"Cannabis arrests used to be well over a million every year, and as a result of legalisation in various states, that number has dropped dramatically. With this move, it should drop even further," he said, adding: "That means fewer people will have to interact with law enforcement. A lot of people get their introduction to the criminal justice system through marijuana."