There was a lot of speculation on whether or not Trump would reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III on Monday. As most of you already know, he didn’t. And based on his answer to when it will be done, my guess is no time soon.
For the uninitiated, the law and government are two very complicated things in the U.S. I didn’t realize just how complicated until I started lobbying the CO state congress back when I lived in Denver. So there are a lot of implications to what Schedule III will mean. People that are against it are understandable to feel that way because most, if not all, Schedule III drugs can only be obtained with a prescription and therefore must be purchased at a pharmacy. Which means we are opening up the cannabis industry to the pharmaceutical industry and potentially giving them full reins over the cannabis industry.
You may be asking, what does this mean for state-sanctioned dispensary models? Well, I don’t know. With bills and amendments, you have to go into the provisions, which are like the architecture of the laws, and read through them to see the implications of the bill or amendment. And if you are not an attorney, you can count on spending a good amount of time googling what the hell a lot of the terminology even means.
EXECUTIVE ORDER
Trump is expected to reschedule via executive order, so this is not only very abnormal, but the implications of what this will mean may be hard to decipher. Most people that are not fans of this administration (myself included) are cynical as to why he is doing this, as am I. Generally, this administration doesn’t do things—in my humble opinion—out of necessity for the common good, but rather to consolidate power, to put in place policies that disenfranchise minorities and the poor.
So in order to find out what is in the executive order, you have to go to FederalRegister.gov and read what the details are, if Schedule III is ever implemented via executive order.
WHO’S BEHIND THIS
My guess is Big Pharma may have helped the current administration during their campaign. If Schedule III is implemented, then pharmaceutical companies would have to patent drugs. You cannot patent a plant, so they would have to develop drugs that are patentable, like Jazz Pharma’s Epidiolex, ($45k for a years supply, no I’m not kidding) or Marinol, a synthetic form of THC taken as a pill.
According to MJBizdaily.com:
“Trump reached his decision in part after heavy lobbying from cannabis industry figures.
These include Trulieve Cannabis Corp. CEO Kim Rivers and Howard Kessler, the financier behind The Commonwealth Project, an advocacy organization that also supported the Biden administration’s ultimately fruitless rescheduling efforts.”
Due to Trulieve and The Commonwealth Project being major contributors to this initiative, I find it unlikely that a move to Schedule III would have major negative implications for the state-sanctioned dispensary models so many have become accustomed to. On the other hand, when it comes to this administration, all bets are off.
Also, Trump could go in and do other executive orders in the future that pertain to cannabis that could change this executive order.
280E
280E restrictions would be loosened for plant-touching businesses, but IMO that would just make cannabis even cheaper, potentially creating more competitive markets in places where the prices are already through the basement, incentivizing businesses to cut even more corners and put out an even shittier product—although at this stage it’s hard to imagine weed getting much worse than it is in most dispensaries.
DOESN’T FREE UP BANKING OR INTERSTATE COMMERCE
While certain banks will probably loosen up restrictions on plant-touching businesses under Schedule III, don’t expect to be doing business banking with Chase anytime soon. Schedule III is still a controlled substance and subject to much speculation by commercial banks.
WOULD THIS SHUT DOWN DISPENSARIES?
No, I don’t think so. Every dispensary in every state is still in flagrant violation of federal law when it comes to a Schedule I drug and would still be under Schedule III. So you may be asking yourself, how are states able to operate this entire time without being raided by the feds? Well, it’s politics. Certain administrations think it’s a waste of time to go after those businesses, as they know federal legalization is imminent, and being anti-cannabis in 2025 is not very popular anymore among many constituents. Even if the feds did want to shut down state-run dispensaries, they don’t have the budget or bandwidth to do so, at least currently.
ARE YOU AS SICK OF THE ALL THE GOVERNMENT AMBIGUITY AS I AM?
The back and forth going on in the government concerning legalization, the Farm Bill amendment, the SAFE Banking Act, 280E, rescheduling—all this ambiguity just seems to keep being regurgitated over and over again with very little clarity as to how we are actually going to move forward. If it were up to me (and many consumers), you could just grow your own, get it for free at home, and know exactly what you are putting in your body without paying Uncle Sam the privilege to do so. But I digress.
We are making progress. When I was slanging dime bags at 15 years old, I never thought we would have come this far. And while it has largely been one step forward, two steps back, I think individuals like myself that are trying to educate and inform people of those backward steps are moving this industry forward in the right direction. One day at a time. One Love.
