Trump May Be About To Announce He’s Reclassifying Marijuana, Opponents Warn As White House Denies Rumors
Marijuana rescheduling to Schedule III is the shot of whiskey sliding down Washington’s bar right now—hot, loud, and maybe about to spill. Rumors of an imminent move to reclassify cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act have turned the town’s usual whisper network into a full-throated clatter, the kind you hear in a diner at 2 a.m. when the coffee is weak but the opinions are strong. Industry hands see a path to long-delayed relief on cannabis taxation. Prohibitionists see a political stunt with dangerous consequences. And somewhere between the smoke and mirrors, a White House spokesperson insists no final decision has been made, even as the phrase “marijuana rescheduling” keeps bouncing off the walls like a rogue cue ball.
The flashpoint is Schedule III. That label wouldn’t legalize marijuana federally, but it would admit the obvious—medical value exists, abuse potential is lower than the current Schedule I fantasy—and it would unlock a vault long sealed by IRS Code 280E. Suddenly, compliant businesses could deduct ordinary expenses like every other Main Street shop, not just the scraps left after punitive math. That’s the bit critics like Smart Approaches to Marijuana seize on: they argue it’s a tax windfall for big operators and a cultural green light that confuses kids. Their president, Kevin Sabet, has been shouting into the social-media void, warning that downgrading cannabis sends “the wrong message” while enriching insiders. It’s a familiar American story—who eats first when the policy pie comes out of the oven—and it’s why the stakes around cannabis taxation and messaging are clanging like pans in a cramped kitchen.
Then came a new wrinkle: according to a detailed account from the Washington Post, the president is weighing an executive order to push agencies toward rescheduling, after a meeting this week with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz. During that huddle, he even rang House Speaker Mike Johnson, who reportedly objected to any downgrade. Politics, personalities, and a policy dial that’s overdue for a turn. If Schedule III lands, federal marijuana policy takes its most significant step in half a century—still not legalization, but a realignment that eases research barriers and normalizes the way state-licensed operators are treated by the taxman. It would also unfold alongside other tectonic gears, like the high-court drumbeat in U.S. Supreme Court To Discuss Case Challenging Federal Marijuana Prohibition This Week, which has the country’s legal architecture humming with possibility.
Out in the states, you can already feel the ground moving beneath your boots. When bureaucrats finally listen to people who live in the real world, rules evolve, doors open, and the culture follows. See Massachusetts, where regulators just greenlit a new frontier with Massachusetts Officials Approve Rules Allowing Marijuana Social Consumption Lounges To Open—a sign that the regulated market keeps inching toward how people actually consume. Or Kentucky, where the ice is cracking and access is arriving fast; the governor even warned demand could overwhelm supply as Kentucky’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary To Open This Weekend, With Supplies Expected To ‘Run Out’ Quickly, Governor Says. Not every state is drifting the same direction, though. Ohio’s leadership is tugging the reins, signaling a preference for tighter controls and a clampdown on hemp derivatives, a theme captured in Ohio Governor Says He’ll Sign Bill To Roll Back Marijuana Legalization And Restrict ‘Juiced-Up Hemp’ Products. That’s the messy American map: some places speeding up the on-ramp, others setting up speed traps.
None of this happens in a vacuum. Schedule III would be the culmination of a process already teed up by the federal health bureaucracy: HHS recommended the move after a scientific review, and the DEA’s rulemaking dance would have to follow. Even with an executive order, agencies must grind through comment periods and the administrative law gauntlet. Meanwhile, the same administration just signed a spending bill that effectively bans most consumable hemp products, gutting a parallel market that had slipped through the cracks. The paradox is rich: hemp is squeezed while high-THC cannabis could soon find a softer berth. For small and mid-sized operators, the cannabis industry impact of 280E relief could be existential; for patients and researchers, fewer barriers could mean better data and better medicine; for policymakers, it’s a test of whether marijuana policy reform can be something sturdier than a campaign line. If you want to keep a finger on the pulse while tasting what’s compliant and craft, pull up a chair and browse our shop: https://thcaorder.com/shop/.
