Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Sen. Bill Cassidy backs Trump move to reschedule marijuana, says it will ease research
Loading...
Summary
Sen. Bill Cassidy said he supports President Trump's executive order to move marijuana from schedule I to schedule III because it will make research easier; Cassidy said he wants studies on whether high‑potency marijuana is contributing to serious mental illness in young men and noted federal rescheduling would not change state laws where marijuana remains illegal.
Sen. Bill Cassidy told interviewers he supports President Trump's executive order to reschedule marijuana from schedule I to schedule III, saying the change "is gonna make it easier to do the research."
The program host asked Cassidy whether he was "on board" with the rescheduling and asked the senator to explain what the move would do. Cassidy said the federal change would ease researchers' ability to study whether very-high-potency marijuana is contributing to increased rates of serious mental illness, particularly among young men. "Everybody watching this has a family member or a friend who's had an issue with serious mental illness," he said. "Let's do the research to show if it indeed is contributing to increased serious mental illness."
Cassidy also cautioned that the federal rescheduling would not alter state laws: "In the meantime, it's still illegal in the states where it's illegal," he said, adding that many states have decriminalized or made marijuana "quasi legal." As a physician, Cassidy said his sympathy for people with mental illness informs his view that enabling research is the right approach.
The exchange was an interview discussion; no votes, rule changes, or federal agency actions were recorded in the program. The senator emphasized research as the primary justification for the federal change and underscored that any state-level criminal status would remain unaffected by a federal rescheduling.
