Politics
Bipartisan Congressional Lawmakers Give Mixed Reactions To Marijuana Rescheduling News From Trump Administration
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are weighing in on a potentially imminent decision by President Donald Trump to move forward with federal marijuana rescheduling—with Democrats like Rep. Alex Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling the reform a “no-brainer” and others like Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) pushing back against the proposal.
It was first reported on Thursday that Trump intended to sign an executive order on rescheduling, potentially directing the attorney general to complete the Biden administration-initiated process to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Since then, a number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have shared their views on the plan in interviews with Marijuana Moment. While Democrats might disagree with the president on a multitude of policy issues, they’ve generally welcomed the news about the rescheduling development, even if they’d ultimately like to see a complete end to federal prohibition rather than the incremental change.
Ocasio-Cortez said it’s a “no-brainer” to enact the policy change, which would federally legalize marijuana but would remove certain research barriers and let cannabis businesses take federal tax deduction, while symbolically recognizing the medical value of the plant.
“I’ve honestly felt that it’s been a race” between the two major parties to achieve the reform, the congresswoman said. “I mean, it’s inevitable, so of course I’m supportive of that move.”
Asked about reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Trump not to reschedule, Ocasio-Cortez noted that an executive order would circumvent congressional lawmakers who are opposed. The speaker “doesn’t have the pen” on such orders, she said.
“If he wants to try to pass some legislation and whip his entire Republican caucus into doing that, I think that’s well within his powers,” the congresswoman said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment that it’s it’s true that Trump plans to advance rescheduling, that would be a “game-changer” and a “huge” accomplishment.
However, she said that it’s hard for any lawmaker to ever take his word seriously” given that the president has frequently shifted his position on various policy issues in the past. “I do hope he is going to [act on rescheduling] and it comes true,” she said.
Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), another co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment that “Trump’s proposal would be a positive step toward commonsense cannabis policy reform, but more work remains.”
“Although it would ease restrictions on medical cannabis research and alleviate certain tax burdens on state-legal cannabis businesses, classifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance still enables the unfair and unequal incarceration of recreational users and limits cannabis businesses’ access to banking services,” she said. “We must continue to address the systemic inequity associated with the scheduling of cannabis as a dangerous drug.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), for his part, didn’t weigh in on the substance of the rescheduling proposal, but he told Marijuana Moment he was with president on Thursday evening and “did not hear that” he was planning to complete the reform process.
One of the chamber’s most vocal anti-marijuana lawmakers, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), stressed that he doesn’t “agree with everything the president does, and this is one where I disagree.” He also seemed to question the veracity of recent reports about the imminence of a rescheduling action, noting that he was told “with certainty” that it’d happen on Thursday, which didn’t materialize.
There’s been mixed reporting about the timing of a possible rescheduling action, with some sources still holding out hope it will happen on Friday, CNBC reporting that the executive order would be issued as early as Monday of next week and Axios reporting that the reform is expected to come early next year.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), told Marijuana Moment that rescheduling is a “terrible idea” and noted that he’s never discussed the issue with the House speaker.
In a statement on Friday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), said she was “encouraged to see the Drug Enforcement Administration first move to reschedule marijuana under President Biden, and I urge President Trump to follow through on this effort.”
“Common sense tells us marijuana should not be in the same category as deadly drugs like heroin, and reclassifying it is a long overdue and small step forward to create economic opportunity, support research into marijuana’s medical benefits, and increase public safety,” she said. “However, there is still far more work that must be done. I will continue to advocate for the full descheduling of marijuana and for expunging the records of Americans convicted of marijuana possession.”
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reacted to the news by criticizing the Biden administration after it “failed” to finish the job to get marijuana rescheduled, and he said it’s his hope the Trump administration doesn’t “make the same mistake.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s former White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, spoke about the news development in an episode of his podcast “The Huddle” on Friday and said Trump’s possible rescheduling action, like other policy issues, “comes back to power and money.”
‘There’s a lot of people who instinctively think that this is a good play with with young voters,” he said. “The bottom line—all this reclassification–really all goes to the financial piece of this.”
Spicer added that there’s a “banking piece to this” because cannabis businesses have long faced challenging accessing banking services under federal prohibition, regardless of state laws. However, he inflated the impact of rescheduling on that issue because placing marijuana in Schedule III of the CSA would not federally legalize it, so some banks would likely continue to avoid servicing the marijuana industry even if that modest reform is enacted.
“This is a big business with a lot of money, and I’ve got to believe that that’s what this really comes down to,” he said. “The president is not running for reelection…there’s a lot of people who will not be happy about this. I’m one of them.”
“You walk from downtown [Washington, D.C.] or any city right no–it smells like pot and pee,” he added. “I think, considering where we are as a society, the last thing we need to do is to make drugs more available. I don’t think this is a good idea, but I will tell you, I think where people are missing the story is it’s: Follow the money.”
Trump said in mid-August that he’d be making a decision on rescheduling within weeks. But despite that timeline and the escalating rumors, a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that “no final decisions have been made on rescheduling of marijuana.”
The Washington Post reported on Thursday evening that Trump was planning to issue an executive order directing federal agencies to move ahead with cannabis rescheduling.
The outlet also said the president met earlier this week in the Oval Office 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 meeting, Trump phoned Johnson, the House speaker, who expressed his opposition to rescheduling cannabis,
If the administration does ultimately enact rescheduling, it would mark one of the most significant developments in federal marijuana policy since its prohibition a half a century ago, with a Schedule III reclassification recognizing that marijuana has medical value and a lower abuse potential compared to other Schedule I drugs like heroin.
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Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as industry banking access and a Florida adult-use legalization initiative—on the campaign trail last year. The president had been largely silent on the issue since taking office during his second term, until a briefing in August where in response to a reporter’s question he announced the administration would decide on rescheduling within weeks.
The possibility of an imminent rescheduling announcement comes weeks after the president signed a key spending bill that would effectively ban most consumable hemp products, drawing criticism from stakeholders in the hemp industry who argue the policy change would eradicate the market.
The LCB contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.
