According to a report in the Washington Post (subscription required), President Donald Trump is seriously considering reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. If cannabis is rescheduled, it will mark the greatest change to U.S. drug laws since 1970 and drastically change the state-regulated cannabis industry across 40 states. According to The Post’s report, President Trump had a phone conference with cannabis industry executives, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz to discuss the implications of possible rescheduling. A White House spokesperson said that “no final decisions have been made on the rescheduling of marijuana.” However, Washington insiders are claiming that these are signals that rescheduling is imminent and could happen as early as Monday, and the price of cannabis stocks has reacted accordingly.
Moving cannabis to Schedule III would not legalize or even decriminalize it at the federal level, meaning the state-regulated adult use markets will still be in conflict with federal law. Currently, marijuana is categorized as a Schedule I substance, reserved for drugs such as heroin and LSD that have no recognized medical value and a high potential for abuse. A move to Schedule III, a category for drugs with accepted medical value but still having addiction potential, would put cannabis on par with drugs like steroids, ketamine and codeine, meaning it would only be legal with a prescription.
A policy change from the Trump White House has been hotly anticipated for months now. As we previously wrote about here, back in August, President Trump said that he is looking into rescheduling and said he would “make a determination over…the next few weeks.” It appears that determination has now been made, and rescheduling is finally going to happen. The industry has been here before, and hopefully it can finally get over the finish line this time. This is a developing story, and there will likely be additional details coming out over the next few days and weeks regarding rescheduling cannabis. Be sure to subscribe to our blog for more information on all cannabis developments at the federal level.