Donald Trump has ordered a sweeping rethink of US drug policy in Washington, signing an executive order to accelerate research into psychedelic medicines and directing his administration to reschedule medical marijuana, in what advocates describe as a decisive break from the Republican Party's traditional 'war on drugs' stance.
The shift comes after decades in which Republican leaders championed harsh criminal penalties and 'just say no' messaging, a posture rooted in Richard Nixon's drug crackdown and reinforced through the 1980s and 1990s. Under Trump, the White House is now flirting with a very different idea: that some banned substances, including cannabis and psychedelic compounds, might have legitimate medical value and should be easier to study and potentially prescribe.
