A Presidents’ Day Retrospective: The Long Road to Cannabis Rescheduling

Today, as we observe Presidents’ Day, we take a moment to look back at the complicated, often contradictory relationship between the nation’s highest office and a plant that has been part of American history since its inception. 

While some past presidents took a hard stance against cannabis, others have called for reform and even acknowledged using it at some point in their lives. 

Long before it was a controlled substance, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp at Mount Vernon and Monticello, and James Madison was also a hemp farmer. While they grew it for industrial use, such as rope and paper, their early display of the plant’s versatility reminds us that cannabis is woven into our nation’s roots. 

Fast forward to the mid-20th century, and the United States turned to increasingly harsh measures against cannabis use. President Richard Nixon launched the "War on Drugs," and opposed decriminalization and legalization, despite findings of the Shafer Commission that he appointed himself. Also during Nixon’s term, cannabis was listed as Schedule I with other drugs having maximum abuse potential but no medicinal value under the 1970's Controlled Substances Act.

While President Jimmy Carter departed from prohibitionist stances and called for the decriminalization of cannabis in 1979, stating that “penalties should not be more damaging than the drug itself,” the tide turned back under President Ronald Reagan. Reagan escalated the War on Drugs, calling cannabis “the most dangerous drug in the United States” and ushering in an era of mandatory sentencing laws.

The 1990s and 2000s brought a shift toward more honest conversations about cannabis and the absurdity of a system that would criminalize a citizen for the same behavior the President once engaged in. President Bill Clinton famously admitted to experimenting with cannabis, but claimed he "didn't inhale.” Shortly before leaving office, Clinton also stated his support for decriminalizing cannabis.

President Barack Obama then broke the stigma further, admitting, "I inhaled frequently. That was the point." During his administration, Obama supported decriminalization and authorized the 2013 Cole Memo, directing prosecutors to generally respect state-legal cannabis, but stopped short of endorsing full legalization.

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a historic turning point, as executive actions finally begin to align federal cannabis policy with the will of the states and the American people.

During President Joe Biden’s administration, he signaled support for decriminalization, stating that “no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana.” Biden also pardoned thousands of people convicted of cannabis possession under federal law, and ordered a review of cannabis’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act.

Throughout his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump maintained that medical cannabis should be accessible and that broader legalization remained a matter of states' rights. By the 2024 election cycle, his support for reform became even more explicit when he endorsed Florida’s Amendment 3, a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis. This momentum culminated in his second term, with Trump issuing an Executive Order directing the Attorney General to expedite the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.

This Presidents' Day, we honor the progress made and the leaders who have listened to the people. But most importantly, we honor the advocates and voters who made it impossible for the White House to stay silent any longer.