The Trump administration is pushing to change cannabis rules. Here’s how it could impact N.J.
The federal government is changing how it defines cannabis and hemp, a move with ramifications for New Jersey.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in December directing cannabis to be classified as a less dangerous — though still federally illegal — plant. Some in the cannabis industry view it as a step toward eventual federal legalization, while critics note people are still incarcerated for the plant.
The rescheduling order also directs the government to review how hemp is defined. The move allows more research on cannabis by universities and large medical companies.
New Jersey is home to some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical firms, which means much of the research informing federal policy could take place in the Garden State.
Nearly half of all U.S. states have already legalized cannabis, including New Jersey, which approved the measure in 2021.
Cannabis was previously classified on the federal level as Schedule I, which means the government viewed it as having no medical use and a high potential for abuse. There are five schedules in total. The executive order recommended that cannabis be moved to Schedule III, which means medical use is now recognized and the federal government considers it less harmful.
“The federal government’s long delay in recognizing the medical use of cannabis does not serve the Americans who report health benefits from the medical use of cannabis to ease chronic pain and other various medically recognized ailments,” the executive order said.
The order is moving in the direction of viewing cannabis as something with positive benefits, said cannabis lawyer Dan McKillop, a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s cannabis committee.
“Clearly they’re doing away with the narrative that there’s no medicinal benefit here, and that’s important because that was a big stumbling block toward reclassification and future federal legalization,” he said. There are also potential ramifications for hemp.
Congress recently tightened the definition of intoxicating hemp, sparking uproar in the hemp industry. New Jersey followed suit with passage of its own hemp bill, which cleared both chambers of the state Legislature. The bill was based on the federal definition.
