Wait, is weed legal now?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In an executive order last week, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous substance. The drug is currently considered Schedule I, which is the most tightly controlled tier of illegal substances. Trump’s order would direct the Justice Department to move marijuana into Schedule III, a less-restricted class of drugs.
Host Martine Powers speaks with health reporter David Ovalle about what this move means for consumers, scientists and business owners.
Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Christopher Rowland.
Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | For more than 50 years, the U.S. government has classified marijuana as what's known as a Schedule 1 drug, meaning that it's dangerous, it's bad for you, and that it belongs in the same category as LSD and heroin. |
| 0:17.9 | But that could change soon, thanks to a directive from President Trump. |
| 0:22.2 | Today, I'm pleased to announce that I will be signing an executive order to reschedule marijuana |
| 0:26.9 | from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 control substance with legitimate medical uses. We have people |
| 0:35.0 | begging for me to do this. |
| 0:39.5 | And Trump isn't wrong. |
| 0:41.7 | For years, people have argued that marijuana should be taken seriously as a drug with therapeutic effects. |
| 0:48.2 | And this isn't just a line from your neighborhood's donor. |
| 0:51.7 | The idea of making marijuana more widely accessible has broad |
| 0:55.7 | appeal. I can't tell you, I think I probably have received more phone calls on this, |
| 1:01.9 | on doing what we're doing. I don't think I received any calls on the other side of it. |
| 1:09.0 | What you're hearing here is striking. |
| 1:12.2 | You've got a sitting Republican president |
| 1:14.2 | speaking so highly of a drug that's illegal under federal law, |
| 1:20.0 | despite the fact that historically, |
| 1:22.2 | Republicans have usually been the ones who are tough on drugs. |
| 1:25.9 | But in this moment, the politics around marijuana |
| 1:29.4 | are changing in a big way. |
| 1:33.7 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post reports. I'm Martine Powers. It's Monday, |
| 1:40.0 | December 22nd. Today, I'm talking with health reporter David O'Vay about what reclassifying |
| 1:46.8 | marijuana could mean for access to this drug. And what happened to the Republicans' war on |
| 1:53.2 | weed? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.