Study: Most Americans Support Federal Reclassification of Cannabis

A recent study found that most Americans support removing cannabis from Schedule I under federal law. Most Americans support the federal government’s reclassification of medical cannabis, according to an analysis of more than 40,000 comments on the public record related to federal proposals by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of California San Diego.    

In response to a 2024 proposal by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis, 42,913 comments were submitted to the docket, which is part of the federal e-rulemaking process and how the public can engage with proposed regulations. It marked the largest amount of public input to date on federal cannabis policy.  

The researchers obtained every comment posted to the e-rulemaking portal during the 63-day comment window and analyzed them through an open-source large language model which was then validated against human review. The team found 63.5% of commentors backed even further reforms, 28.9% supported Schedule III reclassification as proposed, while just 6.7% opposed any changes. 

A sweeping majority – 92.4% – wanted cannabis removed from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.  

Nearly 57% of supporters most often cited therapeutic benefits, while 27.8% noted economic impacts on the cannabis industry and state revenues, with 24.4% expressing and the need for clearer federal regulation to ensure public safety.  

The Trump administration on April 24 moved Food and Drug-approved cannabis products sold under qualifying state medical cannabis licenses from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, while also setting a new June 29, 2026 administrative hearing to restart and expedite the broader DEA rescheduling process.