There’s at least one strong sign that President Donald Trump is inching closer to easing federal restrictions on cannabis: Prominent figures in the Republican Party and MAGA world are frantic and upset.
Conservative pundits and social-media influencers as well as GOP lawmakers are sounding the alarm this week over Trump’s plans to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug.
Trump confirmed Monday the White House is “looking at” marijuana rescheduling “very strongly.”
That would be a “huge mistake,” New York Post columnist Miranda Divine told her 854,000 followers on X.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham reposted a petition to the White House begging Trump to keep federal prohibition intact and aired a segment that attempted to tie cannabis use to the murder of director Rob Reiner and his wife.
President Trump to address nation on Wednesday night as marijuana rescheduling heats up
The precise timing was still matter of rumor and speculation ahead of a presidential address scheduled for Wednesday evening, but marijuana rescheduling appears to be imminent, according to several major news networks.
Trump “is expected to sign” an executive order reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug under federal law on Thursday, CNN reported.
According to NBC News, Trump will direct Justice Department officials to fast-track a formal rulemaking process that’s been stuck in limbo since his second term began.
That would skip over some of the administrative steps that slowed the process during the Biden administration, including formal hearings before the Drug Enforcement Administration’s administrative law judge demanded by rescheduling opponents.
Cannabis banking and CBD insurance coverage also possible
Along with rescheduling, which would release plant-touching cannabis businesses from Internal Revenue Code Section 280E restrictions, Trump may also package several other gifts to the cannabis industry into his executive order.
According to NBC, these could be:
- Banking protections along the lines of the SAFER Banking Act approved several times in the House of Representatives under Democratic Party control.
- Medicare coverage for certain CBD treatments, like the ones extolled in a video Trump posted to his Truth Social page.
Observers told MJBizDaily that the clamor among Washington pundits created by the possibility of relaxed federal drug laws is a strong indication that the widening rumors have merit.
Rescheduling is also causing consternation among prominent conservative lawmakers such as U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican who authored the House version of the hemp THC ban Trump signed into law.
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According to Marijuana Moment, during a webinar on Tuesday Harris questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to reschedule cannabis.
Most legal observers agree that the president does have the power to direct Cabinet-level agencies, such as the Justice Department, to initiate a formal rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Marijuana multistate operators have seen stock prices rise as much as 50% over the past week on the news.
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