(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro thinks the Trump administration took an “important step” on Thursday after it redefined how the federal government classifies medical marijuana.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche issued an order immediately placing both FDA-approved marijuana products and marijuana regulated by state medical licenses in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
“Governor Shapiro has made clear that we need to catch up — practically every one of our neighbors has legalized marijuana and is benefiting from hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and revenue — and this important step by the federal government only adds support to the Governor’s proposal,” Governor Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky told The Center Square. “The Shapiro Administration stands ready to work with the General Assembly to take advantage of this opportunity to legalize marijuana and make our Commonwealth more competitive and more just.”
Since 1970, marijuana, alongside heroin, LSD and ecstasy, has been classified as a Schedule I drug. That designation defined those as drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Schedule III drugs are defined as having moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Some examples of Schedule III drugs are products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with codeine), ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.
The decision by the Trump administration on Thursday moves medical marijuana from one of the most restricted drug classifications to a less regulated category and delivers a tax break to cannabis businesses. However, it stops short of federal legalization.
In April 2016, then-Gov. Tom Wolf signed legislation making Pennsylvania the 24th state to create a medical marijuana program.
Shapiro announced his support for the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2019, while he was serving his first term as the state’s attorney general.
Since being elected governor in 2022, he’s called on lawmakers to approve an adult-use program – even including the purported tax revenues in all of his budget plans. If enacted July 1, the administration believes legalization would rake in $729 million.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. has been a vocal advocate of marijuana legalization and celebrated the decision made by the Trump administration.
“John has been for legal weed forever,” a Fetterman spokesperson told The Center Square. “This is a good step forward and he supports it.”
NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has given Shapiro and Fetterman “A+” grades for their stated support of marijuana legalization.
However, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., has seen things differently in the past. In December, he signed a joint letter with 21 of his Republican Senate colleagues to the Trump administration opposing reclassifying the drug.
“Rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III drug will undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again and to usher in America’s next economic Golden Age,” the senators write in the letter to the Trump administration. “The only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be left paying the bill.”
During a telephone town hall that same month, McCormick referred to himself as a “big advocate of the use of medical marijuana” but said at that time he was “opposed to rescheduling Marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.”
However, McCormick did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square on Thursday regarding his thoughts on the latest move by the Trump administration.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, also did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square.
FOX43 reported in August 2025 that Garrity said she did not have a firm policy position on the issue, but cautioned lawmakers who touted its financial benefits.
“The money that they had in the budget, I would say that it’s way, way overstated,” Garrity said, according to FOX43. “I don’t have a policy position on it, but I will tell you that if they pass the legislation, I’ll make sure that it’s banked appropriately.”
Outside organizations in Pennsylvania and beyond have also weighed in on the latest move from the Trump administration.
“Today’s order marks a historical reversal in federal cannabis policy,” said NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “It validates the experiences of tens of millions of Americans, as well as those of tens of thousands of physicians, who have long recognized that cannabis possesses legitimate medical utility, as well as the legitimacy of the longstanding medical cannabis access programs available in the majority of US states.”
“It wasn’t long ago that federal officials were denying that cannabis possessed any legitimate medical utility, threatening to seize doctors’ medical licenses for discussing medical cannabis with their patients, and shutting down state-licensed marijuana dispensaries,” he added. “Now the government is seeking to integrate these programs into the existing federal and international framework for regulating substances with accepted medical value.”
The PA Family Institute sees the matter differently. They said they were disappointed with the Trump administration’s decision.
“PA Family Institute is disappointed in the Trump Administration’s decision to give the marijuana industry significant tax breaks and prop up this addiction-for-profit industry,” said Dan Bartkowiak, Chief Strategy Officer at the Pennsylvania Family Institute. “Big Marijuana should not be allowed to more easily target new consumers with harmful marijuana products.”
“In Pennsylvania, the recreational use of marijuana remains illegal, a policy maintained thus far by sensible leaders in the PA Senate. Maintaining that people-first policy helps to avoid many public health and safety challenges seen in other states,” he added. “Evidence continues to link marijuana use, especially among young people, to increased emergency room visits, mental health concerns, and negative impacts on families and communities.”
A majority of Pennsylvanians believe that the government should go further, according to at least one survey.
A recent poll conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research showed that 72% of Democrats, 67% of Republicans, and 64% of independents support the legalization of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania.
However, because of the latest decision by the Trump administration, any marijuana not sold through a state medical program or approved by the FDA remains Schedule I.
Forty states have adopted medical marijuana programs, while 24 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized adult recreational use.
