Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research

The order directs the Attorney General to take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking that would reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act as quickly as federal law allows. It also instructs the Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs to work with Congress to update the statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products, including developing guidance on THC-per-serving limits, container limits, and CBD-to-THC ratios.

Separately, the order directs HHS, the FDA Commissioner, the CMS Administrator, and the NIH Director to develop research methods and models that use real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products and inform standards of care. The order does not itself reschedule marijuana, change any existing regulation, or create any enforceable legal right — each of those outcomes depends on future rulemaking, congressional action, or agency guidance.

Scientists and manufacturers researching medical marijuana and CBD products, patients using marijuana or CBD to manage chronic pain, nausea, and other conditions, healthcare providers who currently lack FDA guidance on prescribing, and federal drug-regulatory and health agencies directed to act.

Marijuana's Schedule I status has legally constrained research for decades, leaving doctors and patients without FDA-backed prescribing guidance. Completing the rescheduling rulemaking would lower those barriers; CBD regulatory clarity could reduce mislabeling risks that currently expose consumers — especially seniors on multiple medications — to uncertain THC levels.

The rescheduling piece runs through the Drug Enforcement Administration's existing administrative process — a proposed rule already exists, public comments have been received, and an administrative law hearing is pending. The order tells the Attorney General to push that process to conclusion but does not set a deadline or bypass any step. The CBD piece depends on Congress acting on a statutory definition, with executive agencies providing input on a regulatory framework. The HHS research mandate has no deadline and no reporting requirement specified.