Politics
Trump May Be About To Announce He’s Reclassifying Marijuana, Opponents Warn As White House Denies Rumors
A leading prohibitionist group is sounding the alarm about a potentially imminent decision from the Trump administration to reschedule marijuana—but despite amplified rumors about the potential reform action, the White House tells Marijuana Moment that “no final decisions have been made.”
There’s been a swell of speculation in recent days from industry observers, as well as opponents of rescheduling such as Smart Approaches To Marijuana (SAM), that President Donald Trump would be making a decision on moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as early as Thursday.
Those rumors became so pronounced that Kevin Sabet, president of the prohibitionist group SAM, took to X to share a video about the issue.
“If the rumors are correct,” Sabet said, “President Trump is going to call for marijuana to be rescheduled to Schedule III,” which is “obviously not an outcome we wanted.”
“But I can tell you that it’s not going to be good for our country for many reasons,” he said. “First of all, it’s going to give tax breaks to big marijuana companies. That’s why him and his buddies want this to happen—because it’s going to benefit them. The other issue that we’re concerned about here is [rescheduling is] going to send a really bad message to young people. They’re going to think it’s legalized because it’s being downgraded.”
“We also know from multiple sources—and, really, multiple different folks—that this was a very vigorous fight in the administration,” Sabet said. “But at the end of the day, President Trump listened to business associates and friends—not to the science, not to the data, definitely not—and it’s going to not be good for our country.”
“Of course, with this president, anything is possible,” he said. “Obviously it doesn’t sound good from the rumors we’re hearing, but I can tell you that, either way, we’re going to keep fighting for America’s kids.”
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.”
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.
Rescheduling would not federally legalize cannabis. But the policy change would allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions they’ve been deprived under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. It would also remove certain research barriers applied to Schedule I drugs.
The change could also spur additional states to modernize their own policies on cannabis, as some lawmakers have cited the federal government’s restrictive classification of marijuana as a reason they have been uncomfortable with enacting legalization or at least allowing medical use.
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.
If he moves forward with the plan, Trump would be completing a process initiated under the Biden administration. That involved a scientific review by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—which concluded that Schedule III is a more appropriate category for marijuana—as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
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.
