Ohio Republican Rep. Dave Joyce, a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said he is confident the Trump administration will move forward with plans to reschedule marijuana, dismissing concerns that the Justice Department could delay or ignore the president’s directive.
In an interview with Marijuana Moment, Joyce said Trump made his intentions “very clear” when he signed an executive order last month directing the federal government to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I drugs are considered to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, while Schedule III substances are subject to fewer restrictions.
Joyce, who attended the Oval Office signing ceremony, said he does not believe Attorney General Pam Bondi would seek to undermine the order, even if she holds personal reservations about cannabis policy.
Bondi previously opposed efforts to legalize medical marijuana while serving as Florida’s attorney general and did not attend the signing ceremony.
“The president was pretty clear about what he wanted and where he wants to go,” Joyce said, adding that rescheduling would create an opportunity to study marijuana’s impacts better.
“Good or bad, what the impacts are,” he said. “Certainly the ability exists to reschedule.”
The Justice Department has not publicly commented on its plans or timeline for completing the rescheduling process, which began under the Biden administration. DOJ officials have not responded to multiple inquiries from Marijuana Moment, and the Drug Enforcement Administration recently said an appeal process related to rescheduling “remains pending,” despite Trump’s call for swift action.
Joyce argued that rescheduling is a narrower and less controversial step than full federal legalization. He said the move would ease research barriers and allow state-legal cannabis businesses to take standard federal tax deductions. “If the pending proposal was to legalize cannabis federally, that might have been a different subject matter,” he said.
The issue has drawn mixed reactions within the Republican Party. A coalition of GOP state attorneys general and groups of House and Senate Republicans has criticized the decision, arguing that marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug.
Trump has brushed off those objections, citing broad public support and personal stories of people who have benefited from cannabis for severe health conditions.
Meanwhile, the House last week passed a spending bill continuing protections for state medical marijuana programs from federal interference. However, it excluded language that would have barred the DOJ from rescheduling cannabis.
If the reclassification proceeds, it could also clear the way for Washington, D.C., to legalize recreational marijuana sales after years of congressional restrictions.
