Cannabis sector stocks jumped Monday after reports circulated that President Donald Trump told donors he will consider easing federal restrictions on marijuana.
The Wall Street Journal and CNN both reported Friday that the president, who endorsed a failed adult-use marijuana legalization measure in Florida last year, pledged to mull over the cannabis industry’s pet issue after receiving millions in donations from the industry.
The news that Trump is considering marijuana rescheduling boosted shares in marijuana multistate operators such as Tallahassee-based Trulieve Cannabis.
Downgrading cannabis’ status under federal law would unlock profound benefits for the industry, including federal tax relief.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers was present at the $1 million-per-plate fundraiser at Trump’s New Jersey golf club where the president made his pledge, according to the Journal.
Shares in Trulieve jumped nearly 27% during Monday trading, to $6.50 a share.
Shares in other publicly traded companies increased by double digits.
Marijuana rescheduling process next steps
Next steps are unclear, as is the timing.
According to three people who attended the fundraiser, the president said he was “interested” in marijuana rescheduling, the Journal reported.
“Discussions are ongoing in the administration,” the Journal reported Friday, adding that “it remains unknown what Trump will ultimately decide.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is understood to be in control of the marijuana rescheduling process.
Key hearings before the DEA’s top administrative law judge, scheduled for after Trump took office, were paused indefinitely on the eve of his January inauguration.
The DEA’s new administrator, Terrance Cole, is a known marijuana skeptic who dodged questions from senators on the topic during his confirmation process.
However, observers largely agree that Washington officials will follow direction from the White House.
As MJBizDaily reported last week, cannabis companies have been following the lead of other industries and are making donations intended to win favor with the White House.
This includes a $1 million contribution from a marijuana industry-funded organization to Trump’s Maga Inc. as well as donations from cannabis companies to Trump’s inauguration.
Federal campaign finance records show Trulieve donated $750,000 to the inaugural committee.
Marijuana CEO recently ‘more confident’ Trump will reschedule
In the company’s quarterly earnings call Thursday, Rivers said she’s become “more confident over the last three to six months for sure” that the Trump administration will move on cannabis reform.
“You’ve got a president and you have an administration who specifically campaigned on federal reform and specifically on rescheduling,” she said, according to a transcript.
The U.S. Cannabis Council, a Washington, D.C.-based lobby since rebranded the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, also donated $250,000, records show.
In a statement over the weekend, David Culver, the roundtable’s senior vice president of public affairs, expressed the organization’s “strong support for this long-overdue and historic reform.”
“Reclassifying medical cannabis would lift outdated federal restrictions that have stifled scientific research for decades,” the statement read.
“We commend President Trump’s leadership in exploring this step and urge the administration to act swiftly. This is a pivotal moment for American healthcare, patient access and responsible policy reform.
“The time to act is now.”
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Marijuana rescheduling on hiatus since January
Kicked off by former President Joe Biden in October 2022, a years-long process to downgrade cannabis to a Schedule 3 drug has been on indefinite hiatus since Trump took office in January.
The Justice Department issued a formal proposal to remove marijuana from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act last year, after health regulators in August 2023 found that cannabis has a currently accepted medical use in the United States.
Reclassifying cannabis to Schedule 3 would relieve plant-touching companies from the extra federal tax burden presented by Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, which forbids most normal business deductions.
It’s also considered to be the key to unlocking broader, more ambitious reforms that could mean the difference between profitability and losses for the marijuana industry.
More practically, marijuana reform could be a way for Trump to revive his plummeting approval rating ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Just 37% percent of voters favor Trump’s handling of the country, according to Gallup.
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
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