Report: Trump Planning to Reschedule Cannabis Via Executive Order

President Donald Trump (R) is expected to issue an executive order to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law, the Washington Post reports.

Citing six sources familiar with the issue, the Post said the president recently spoke in the Oval Office with a group of cannabis executives alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, who both support federal cannabis reforms, and that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) expressed during a mid-meeting phone call with the president his opposition to the policy change.

A White House official said Thursday after the report’s release that the president has not yet reached a final decision on the issue.

If enacted, it would be the most significant drug policy change for the U.S. since the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The rescheduling plan was first set in motion by the Biden Administration, although the effort stalled due to DEA foot-dragging and procedural delays.

Notably, Schedule III would not make every state cannabis market federally legal — although it would alleviate a significant tax burden for cannabis companies, which are denied basic deductions due to handling a Schedule I substance.

Brian Vicente, Founding Partner at national cannabis law firm Vicente LLP, said the change would be “monumental” for state-legal cannabis markets.

“Rescheduling releases cannabis businesses from the crippling tax burden they have been shackled with and allows these businesses to grow and prosper. We work with hundreds of licensed cannabis businesses, and the ability to deduct ordinary operating costs under the Schedule III proposal is a game-changer for them.” — Vicente, in a statement

President Trump told a group of donors at a private dinner earlier this year that he was considering rescheduling cannabis.

In September 2024, then-candidate Trump said that he supported rescheduling cannabis and giving state-licensed cannabis companies access to banking services.