The White House has announced that President Trump has made no final decisions regarding the rescheduling of marijuana, despite reports suggesting that the administration is close to reclassifying the drug as a Schedule III substance, similar to mild painkillers. The move would be a significant shift in the country’s drug policy and would have significant implications for the $32 billion cannabis industry.
According to a report in The Washington Post, President Trump had a phone call with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who opposes rescheduling, and also met with cannabis industry executives, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz. The two sides pitched their differing opinions on the issue.
While rescheduling would not legalize or decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, it would still have significant benefits for the industry. For one, it would allow marijuana companies to take the same tax deductions as other companies, freeing up billions of dollars. Additionally, it would mark a significant shift in the country’s drug policy, which has been criticized for being overly punitive.
However, some critics argue that rescheduling would not address the existing conflict between state and federal laws regarding marijuana. Currently, marijuana is illegal under federal law, but many states have legalized it for medical or recreational use. Rescheduling would not change this, and would instead perpetuate the conflict.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of nonprofit marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML, is cautious about reading too much into the reports and rumors. “There has been so many false starts, that I will believe it when I see it in the federal register,” he says.
Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of non-profit Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which opposes legalization, has also weighed in on the issue. “This would make him the most pro-drug president in modern American history,” he wrote on X. “Don’t do it, Donald.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the issue, many in the cannabis industry are hopeful that rescheduling will become a reality. “Rescheduling releases cannabis businesses from the crippling tax burden they have been shackled with and allow these businesses to grow and prosper,” says Brian Vicente, a founding partner at cannabis-focused law firm Vicente. “The ability to deduct ordinary operating costs under the Schedule III proposal is a game-changer.”
