--- title: "Trump's Bold Drug Policy Shift | Model Diplomat" description: "Trump's administration is reclassifying medical marijuana and funding psychedelics research for veterans, a bold drug policy shift that breaks with GOP norms." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/story/trumps-bold-drug-policy-shift-marijuana-and-psychedelics-reformed" --- # Trump's Bold Drug Policy Shift Trump reclassifies marijuana and funds psychedelics research. Model DiplomatApril 25, 20263 min readUnited States [Alejandra JaramilloTrump signs executive order urging more research into ibogaine and other psychedelics | CNN Politics](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/18/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-urging-more-research-into-psychedelic-ibogaine)[Matthew Perrone and Seung Min Kim | APTrump signs order to speed review of psychedelics, including the controversial drug ibogaine - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/04/18/ibogaine-psychedelic-trump-fda-ptsd-veterans-kennedy/42a86dc0-3b31-11f1-90c4-9772c7fabc03_story.html)[Editorial BoardOpinion | Trump's psychedelics executive order is a welcome gesture - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/04/20/trump-psychedelics-executive-order-is-welcome-gesture/) ## Trump Cracks Open GOP Drug Policy — Marijuana and Psychedelics in One Week *Trump reclassified medical marijuana to Schedule III and signed a $50M psychedelics research order in April 2026 — a break from decades of GOP orthodoxy.* In a single week, the Trump administration executed two of the most significant federal drug policy shifts in a generation. On **April 23**, Acting Attorney General **Todd Blanche** signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III — placing it alongside ketamine and Tylenol with codeine. Five days earlier, on **April 18**, Trump signed an executive order directing the FDA to fast-track research into psychedelics, including the controversial African plant derivative **ibogaine**, backed by **$50 million** in new federal funding. Together, the moves mark a deliberate departure from the GOP's four-decade war-on-drugs posture. ## Who Moved the Levers The psychedelics order has an unlikely origin: a call from **Joe Rogan**. Rogan, alongside former Navy SEAL **Robert O'Neill** and ex-Texas Governor **Rick Perry**, had been publicly lobbying for ibogaine access for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. A [Stanford study on ibogaine and TBI-related depression](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/18/trump-executive-order-psychedelics-joe-rogan/89676816007/ "usatoday.com") gave the campaign scientific credibility. Trump signed with **HHS Secretary RFK Jr.** and **FDA Commissioner Makary** at his side — a signal that this is institutionally owned, not a one-off gesture. The marijuana reclassification is a different animal. The DOJ action builds on Biden-era momentum — the DEA had already proposed Schedule III reclassification — but **Trump's DOJ accelerated it**, scheduling a formal DEA administrative hearing for **June 29, 2026** that will determine the scope of any permanent rule. Critically, the reclassification does **not** federally legalize cannabis; it lifts research barriers, eases tax burdens on state-licensed producers under IRS Section 280E, and removes some enforcement pressure on state-legal medical programs. [Source: USA Today](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/23/trump-doj-reclassifies-medical-marijuana-to-schedule-iii-about-historic-shift/89749228007/ "usatoday.com") ## Who Wins, Who Doesn't **Winners:** State-licensed cannabis operators get immediate relief from the federal tax penalty that's been bleeding their margins. Veterans' advocacy groups get a funded research pathway for ibogaine — a drug showing striking results for combat-related PTSD. The **cannabis industry** broadly benefits from reduced regulatory friction, and **RFK Jr.** secures a signature policy win under the "Make America Healthy Again" banner. **Losers:** The traditional social-conservative wing of the GOP — which views both moves as cultural concessions — has no institutional vehicle to block executive action. The roughly **thousands still incarcerated** on federal cannabis charges see no direct relief; rescheduling does not equal retroactive clemency, as [AP reporting confirms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2026/04/24/marijuana-reclassifying-trump-convictions/0eb0f5b8-4019-11f1-bb46-ed564688d953_story.html "washingtonpost.com"). And **pharmaceutical incumbents** in the mental health space now face a federally accelerated competitor in psychedelic-assisted therapy. ### What to Watch Next The **June 29 DEA hearing** is the decisive moment on marijuana. If the administrative process completes without congressional interference, Schedule III becomes permanent — and recreational cannabis reform suddenly has real political oxygen on the right. On psychedelics, watch whether the FDA's "right to try" expansion in the executive order creates a viable access pathway **before** full clinical approval, which would be unprecedented in scope. For the [broader arc of US drug policy](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/us-politics "modeldiplomat.com"), the question is whether Trump's action creates durable Republican cover for congressional legislation — or remains a set of executive orders the next administration can reverse in a morning. The **[United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/usa "modeldiplomat.com")** hasn't resolved that structural vulnerability yet. 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