Jamaica responds to US decision to lower marijuana classification

Jamaica on Thursday welcomed with cautious optimism a new executive order to move marijuana to a lower drug classification under U.S. federal law, describing the decision as a significant signal toward further liberalisation, even as full federal legalisation remains off the table.

Minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Delano Seiveright, said the move could have far-reaching implications but cautioned that much will depend on how the policy is ultimately implemented.

“The ultimate impact on banking access, cross-border investment, research collaboration and wider market engagement will depend on the final details of US implementation and how international compliance and financial ecosystems respond,” Seiveright said in a statement after Trump signed the order during a ceremony at the White House.

The executive order directs the U.S. attorney general to complete the rule-making process to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance “in the most expeditious manner.”

“Today I’m pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III controlled substance, with legitimate medical uses,” Trump said. “We have people begging for me to do this. People who are in great pain. I think I probably have received more phone calls on this, on doing what we’re doing — I don’t think I received any calls on the other side of it.”

Under current federal law, the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies Schedule I substances as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” a category that includes heroin, LSD, ecstasy and marijuana. Schedule III substances are defined as having a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” and include drugs such as Tylenol with codeine, testosterone, anabolic steroids and ketamine.

Trump said the rescheduling move had been requested for decades by patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable illnesses, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders and neurological conditions.

While the decision is being described as one of the most consequential shifts in U.S. drug policy in decades, it does not legalise recreational marijuana at the federal level. Marijuana remains federally illegal, though the change could significantly expand opportunities for medical and scientific research.

The rescheduling could also reduce the tax burden on state-licensed cannabis businesses in states where marijuana is legal, as federal law currently prevents companies dealing in Schedule I substances from claiming certain tax deductions.

Seiveright said the potential research benefits are especially noteworthy.

“Moving cannabis to Schedule III, if completed through the required administrative process, would materially ease barriers to medical and scientific research, expand clinical study opportunities, and alter the operating environment for regulated cannabis activity,” he said. “This federal step also reflects how far practice has already evolved in the United States, where 24 states permit adult recreational use and approximately 40 states allow medical use, despite cannabis remaining federally illegal.”

He added that Jamaica, through the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce and the Cannabis Licensing Authority, will closely assess the development, engage industry stakeholders and monitor potential spillover effects for the island’s regulated cannabis sector.