The AP (12/18, Whitehurst, Barrow) reports the President signed an executive order Thursday that could reclassify “marijuana away from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD,” and instead would be “a Schedule III substance, like ketamine and some anabolic steroids.” While the reclassification by the Drug Enforcement Administration would not make cannabis legal for recreational use by adults nationwide, “it could change how the drug is regulated and reduce a hefty tax burden on the cannabis industry.” Furthermore, it will also “open new avenues for medical research,” and overall represents “a major shift in federal drug policy that inches closer to what many states have done.”

NBC News (12/18, Gregorian, Reichman, Dean) reports the order “directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to conclude the formal rescheduling process, which has been going on for more than a year, and move to publish a final rule that would reclassify cannabis.” It also “directs the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs to work with Congress to allow people in the U.S. to benefit from access to CBD products while still restricting sale and access to products that pose serious health risks.”

Related Links:

— “Trump signs executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug,”Lindsay Whitehurst and Bill Barrow , AP, December 18, 2025

HealthDay (12/18, Thompson) reports a study found that a single half-hour course could help young adults “feel less anxious and depressed, by helping them increase their tolerance of uncertainty.” According to researchers, “young adults who took the course titled ‘Uncertainty-Mindset Training’ continued to feel better a month after taking it.” Even though the course “lasted less than a half-hour,” participants, up to a month later, still “showed substantial improvement in their ability to tolerate uncertainty, as well as decreases in anxiety and depression.” Researchers noted that “three months later, these participants’ tolerance of uncertainty was still much improved, but the reductions in depression and anxiety had started to wane.” The study was published in Psychological Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Anxious, Depressed About An Uncertain World? Training Can Help You Cope, Study Says,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , December 18, 2025

The Washington Post (12/16, Ovalle) reports some policy and health experts say the President’s recent declaration “that illicit fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction” is “a stretch,” adding that “the move may have little practical impact on curbing drug supply, addiction and overdose deaths.” The Administration “has cited the deadly drug crisis in enacting tariffs on China and Mexico, labeling criminal groups terrorist organizations and launching military strikes on suspected smuggling drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.” Experts in national security and transnational crime “say such heavy handed measures could harm global alliances needed to combat traffickers.” Public health experts “say the designation may also exaggerate fears about fentanyl.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Medical Economics (12/16, Payerchin) reports “a national study found” that women physicians “and early-career physicians face higher social isolation, correlating with increased burnout and suicidal ideation.” Investigators found that “specialties like pathology, emergency medicine, and settings like veterans’ hospitals report the highest isolation levels.” The researchers said, “Physicians have the same innate need for connection as all other human beings. … Efforts by both organizations and physicians to prioritize and nurture personal and professional relationships and social connections may enhance well-being and physicians’ ability to care for others.” The findings were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Related Links:

— “Social isolation contributes to physician feelings of burnout, workplace satisfaction, suicidal ideation,”Richard Payerchin, Medical Economics, December 16, 2025

HealthDay (12/17, Gotkine) reports a study found that “body dissatisfaction may causally increase eating disorder and depressive symptoms.” The investigators utilized “data from the Twins Early Development Study to examine the longitudinal associations between body dissatisfaction at age 16 years and later eating disorder and depressive symptoms, as well as body mass index (BMI), in young adulthood.” The researchers “observed an association for a 1-point increase in body dissatisfaction with a 1.99-point higher eating disorder symptom score, a 0.59-point higher depressive symptom score, and a 0.27 kg/m2 higher BMI, on average. Higher body dissatisfaction was also associated with more severe eating disorder and depressive symptoms in monozygotic and dizygotic twin difference analyses.” They noted that “the association was smaller for BMI and was less precisely estimated in monozygotic twins.” The study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Body Dissatisfaction Linked to Eating Disorder, Depressive Symptoms,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay , December 17, 2025