Cannabis may be rescheduled under federal law as soon as today, according to a report on Axios that cited an unnamed Trump administration official “familiar with the matter.”
But exactly when marijuana will be officially downgraded to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act – a classification that recognizes cannabis as medicine under federal law and spells tax relief for plant-touching businesses – still isn’t clear, sources close to the matter told MJBizDaily.
Two sources aware of the situation, granted anonymity to speak freely, confirmed Axios’s reporting to MJBizDaily.
“Today’s the day,” one said.
However, they cautioned, there’s still “some process ahead.”
Precise details about the process – including when cannabis is officially Schedule 3 and whether the promised legal challenges from cannabis reform’s foes can slow down or thwart rescheduling – were not immediately available Wednesday.
When will President Trump reschedule marijuana?
The finalization of marijuana rescheduling, which President Donald Trump ordered done “in the most expeditious manner possible” in a Dec. 18 executive order, had appeared stalled as recently as Saturday, when he complained that federal agencies were “slow-walking” him on the issue.
Similar institutional resistance appeared during the Biden administration, when federal health regulators recommended cannabis be rescheduled in August 2023.
Despite a May 2024 Justice Department memo that said the legal basis was sound, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration failed to complete a lengthy rule-making process before Trump’s second inauguration.
Hearings before a DEA administrative law judge were scuttled in part because of accusations that the DEA was sabotaging the process.
Trump went one step further than Biden by issuing an executive order.
And Trump, known for letting personal relationships shape public policy, was swayed in large part by the influence of billionaire Howard Kessler, a friend and Mar-a-Lago Club member who credits CBD for helping him during cancer treatments.
Kessler and Kim Rivers, the CEO of Florida-based marijuana multistate operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp., were both present in the Oval Office for the Dec. 18 executive order.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
