US President Donald Trump is expected to direct agencies to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, similar to some common prescription painkillers, the Washington Post reported Thursday. Sources told the media house that Trump is expected to force the government to dramatically relax federal restrictions on marijuana, reducing oversight of the plant and its derivatives to the same level as some common prescription painkillers and other drugs. Trump reportedly discussed the plan with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in a Wednesday call from the Oval Office. The president is expected to seek to ease access to the drug through an upcoming executive order directing federal agencies to pursue reclassification, sources said. Will Trump legalize marijuana? The move will not legalize or decriminalize marijuana, but it will ease barriers to research and boost the bottom lines of legal businesses. In August, Trump said he was “looking at reclassification.” The Biden administration has also investigated the rescheduling of cannabis. “We’re looking at it. Some people like it, some people hate it,” Trump said this summer. “Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because it’s bad for the kids, it’s bad for the people who are older than the kids.” The president was joined Wednesday by marijuana industry executives, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicine and Medicaid Services, sources told the Washington Post. On the call, Johnson was skeptical of the idea and offered a list of reasons, including various studies and data, to support his stance against reclassifying the drug, two of the people said. Trump then turned the phone over to the executives gathered around his desk, who refuted Johnson’s arguments, the people said. Trump ended the call and appears poised to move forward with easing restrictions on marijuana, the people said, although they cautioned that the plans are not finalized and Trump could still change his mind. A White House official said no final decisions have been made on the rescheduling of marijuana. The Department of Health and Human Services referred questions to the White House. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative from Johnson’s office declined to comment. Marijuana Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I substance, the same classification as heroin and LSD. Federal regulations consider those drugs to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted use for medical treatment. Trump will move to classify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, which regulators say has less potential for abuse and is used for certain medical treatments but can also create risks of physical or psychological dependence. Other schedule III drugs include Tylenol with codeine, as well as certain steroid and hormone treatments. Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed interest in reclassifying marijuana, with some politicians citing its potential benefit as a medical treatment and the political popularity of the widely used drug. Marijuana has become easier than ever to obtain, and has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. Dozens of states and Washington, DC, have legalized medical marijuana programs, and 24 have approved recreational marijuana. The Biden administration has pursued efforts to ease access to the drug, with health officials recommending reclassification to Schedule III in 2023. But health officials said those recommendations were slow-walked by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which took months to undergo the required administrative review and was not completed before the end of Biden’s term.