A senior adviser to President Donald Trump told The Marijuana Herald today that the administration is “close to rescheduling cannabis,” adding that Trump has told multiple pro-rescheduling supporters in recent days that “we have a plan.”
The adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told us last month that a press release laying out the rescheduling plan has already been finalized, but said it’s waiting for a specific “event” before being made public. Although the adviser remains unwilling to publicly state what the event is, he told us today that “the Administration is close to rescheduling cannabis.”
The adviser says President Trump has been pressed about rescheduling multiple times this week by supporters who want to see movement on the issue, and in those conversations he has repeatedly responded by saying “we have a plan”, and “we’ll get it done.”
As we reported in September, the advisor says Trump personally decided this summer to move forward with rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III. The president had apparently been leaning in that direction from the outset and that in June, Trump privately told two House leaders: “We’ll be moving forward soon with rescheduling marijuana.”
Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III would deliver real effects even though it wouldn’t legalize cannabis. It would allow FDA-approved cannabis medicines to be prescribed nationwide, and it would lift the harsh tax burden on state-legal cannabis businesses by removing the longstanding Section 280E prohibition on deducting ordinary business expenses, letting growers, retailers and producers deduct costs like rent, payroll and utilities just like any other legal business. It would also make it far easier for researchers to study cannabis: federal barriers that now limit medical studies, licensing and access to quality cannabis for research would drop significantly, opening the door to more rigorous clinical trials and potential development of new, regulated cannabis-derived medicines.
In addition, while the change wouldn’t automatically legalize marijuana nationwide or make interstate commerce lawful, it would signal that the federal government officially recognizes cannabis’ medical potential, a shift likely to influence public opinion, regulatory attitudes, and the broader momentum for future reforms.
For now, the public and cannabis sector continues to wait, but according to at least one advisor to the president, the plan is in hand, the paperwork is done, and the White House is waiting only for the right moment.
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