The Trump administration’s recent attempts to loosen the nation’s laws regarding marijuana and psychedelics mark a significant departure from the positions favored by Republicans. 

Despite only 40% of Republicans supporting the legalization of marijuana in 2025, the administration is moving to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which would increase access to the drug and normalize its use. This shift comes after 22 Republican senators sent a letter to President Trump in December urging him to keep marijuana in Schedule I. 

Even after the drug was officially moved to Schedule III, Republicans like Senator Tom Cotton publicly criticized the move. 

And in April, President Trump signed an Executive Order to support and expedite the FDA approval of psychedelics, even though a 2024 poll found that only 16% of Republicans supported the legalization of psychedelics. 

The changes from the Trump administration are also politically questionable, given that the marijuana legalization movement has been losing steam. 8 of the last 10 ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana were rejected by voters, primarily in Republican-led states like Florida and North Dakota. Psychedelics had not even entered mainstream political debates. 

Trump’s shift away from the Republican Party’s position on drugs was highlighted by the New York Times, the Washington Post, STAT, and The Hill, with the latter reporting that “the Trump administration’s moves on marijuana and psychedelics signal the start of a new era in Republican drug policy.” 

Kevin Sabet, the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, who has been dubbed the last remaining drug warrior, said, “We are now confronted with the most pro-drug administration in our history.” 

Why is the Trump administration advancing drug policies that are not supported by Republicans? The answer is money. Trump was intensely lobbied by the marijuana industry, which stands to make billions from these changes. 

Sara Carter, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said, “President Trump is building the drug-free future America deserves.” But the president’s recent actions on marijuana and psychedelics are taking the nation in the opposite direction and away from the positions favored by his core voters.