Cannabis rescheduling just sped up: What you need to know about the executive order

President Trump has just signed an executive order that accelerated rescheduling cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. This began under President Biden, but the current administration is fast-tracking the process.

When finalized, this rescheduling will mark a big change in cannabis policy from the federal government, so light a celebratory joint and stay tuned, because we’re gonna tell you all about it.

What rescheduling means

Here’s what the order does: under the Controlled Substances Act, cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic, meaning the feds say it is highly addictive and has no medical value. Putting weed on the same tier as heroin is CRAZY, and it has been a goal of cannabis activists to reschedule the plant for many years.

Reclassifying cannabis under Schedule 3, alongside drugs like ketamine, means that it’ll be a lot easier for researchers to study the medical benefits of THC and CBD with federal funding.

Rescheduling isn’t legalization

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight. This rescheduling does not mean that weed is now legal nationwide. While that is still a way off, this is an important first step towards legalization and well worth celebrating if you care about the plant or the millions of medical patients who rely on cannabis. This rescheduling order also unfortunately doesn’t address the people who are in prison for cannabis-related offences.

Cannabis business tax effects

Rescheduling cannabis also allows cannabis businesses to claim federal tax deductions. This is great news for the industry, as these tax breaks can be a huge source of revenue. Cannabis companies can run on extremely tight margins, and this news could make the difference for any number of struggling businesses.

Hemp industry impacts

This executive order gives a much-needed boost to the hemp industry, which has recently faced the possibility of a total ban. Trump has instructed cabinet officials to create a regulatory framework for hemp and to also develop research models to improve access to hemp-derived products, which could force Congress to reconsider the ban it passed in November.

Rescheduling can take a while

This order instructs agencies to expedite the process, but it’s hard to know when changes will be final. Rulemaking processes like this one tend to be lengthy and involve public comment periods and other obstacles, so it’s difficult to say how quickly anything will happen.

If you’re a recreational cannabis consumer, then this order won’t affect you too much right now. This does, however, represent a softening of the federal government’s attitude towards cannabis, and made the federal legalization of weed one step closer.