Politics
Trump Is Trying To Boost ‘Pathetic’ Approval Ratings With Marijuana Rescheduling Move, Senator Says As Democrats Push Full Legalization
Amid heightened rumors that the Trump administration will be moving forward on marijuana rescheduling, multiple top congressional Democrats are making the case that the reform would not go far enough—including one senator who said the move is only an attempt by the president to “gaslight” voters into thinking he legalized cannabis to boost his “pathetic” approval ratings.
It remains to be seen whether President Donald Trump will fulfill his campaign promise to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which would not legalize the plant but would let marijuana businesses take federal tax deductions while removing certain research barriers. There was speculation that it’d happen late last week, and CNBC reported a decision would be made as early as Monday, while Axios said it’d occur early next year.
In the interim, Democratic lawmakers are making clear they feel that simply rescheduling cannabis would do little to address the harms of the drug war while problematically maintaining prohibition. Without Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, marijuana sold in dispensaries across the state would remain illicit in the eye’s of the federal government.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has cosponsored cannabis legalization bills, posted an especially inflammatory statement about the issue, accusing Trump of attempting to “gaslight” Americans into “believing he just made pot legal” by facilitating rescheduling.
“Wrong. He has not decriminalized cannabis or expunged the records of black and Latino Americans stuck in prison for minor drug offenses. This is just an attempt to boost his pathetic approval ratings,” the senator—who didn’t appear to levy such sharp criticism against former President Joe Biden despite his administration initiating and failing to complete the process to move marijuana to Schedule III during his tenure—said.
In a statement to Marijuana Moment, Wyden’s Oregon counterpart Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) was more diplomatic, calling rescheduling “an important step in the right direction.”
“However, we cannot let up on momentum to address the wide range of issues impacting legal cannabis businesses, users, and community members,” he said, adding that a bipartisan marijuana banking bill he’s sponsored also “remains critical to ensure all legal cannabis businesses can access banking and financial services.”
“Without this bill, banking for many state-legal cannabis businesses will continue to be inaccessible, making them vulnerable targets to crime,” the senator said. “The complete descheduling of cannabis, my bipartisan bill, and other common-sense cannabis reforms remain unequivocally necessary for communities in Oregon and across the nation.”
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who recently reintroduced a bill to federally legalize marijuana and promote equity to help repair the harms of the drug war, said “Trump’s push to reschedule is not enough, we must federally decriminalize marijuana.”
That’s the reason he refiled the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, Nadler said. “Federal laws must remedy the patchwork of state laws, recognize growing public support, and reverse failed policies criminalizing marijuana.”
Nadler’s MORE Act twice passed the House under Democratic majorities, but it has never been taken up in the Senate, nor has the legalization legislation that Wyden cosponsored.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), another longstanding advocate for reform, said she was ‘urging President Trump to listen to the American people & loosen restrictions on marijuana.”
“It’s an economic, medical, & public safety issue,” she said. “Reclassifying marijuana is progress, & I’ll continue my fight to legalize marijuana & expunge prior marijuana possession convictions.”
Meanwhile, a major drug testing industry organization is “sounding the alarm” amid reports Trump may soon finalize the marijuana rescheduling proposal, arguing that the reform would “have catastrophic consequences for the safety of the United States workforce and transportation sectors.”
Cannabis industry stakeholders are holding out hope that the reform will be achieved as soon as possible, but opponents—including the National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) and Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)—are working to dissuade the administration before a final decision is made. For what it’s worth, a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last week that no actions have been finalized so far.
Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have been weighing in on the potential rescheduling decision over the past week—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.
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 last week 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.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
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.
