Trump expected to address potential easing of marijuana regulations on Thursday

By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump is expected to address the potential loosening of federal regulations on marijuana on Thursday, according to a White House official, setting up a decision that could sharply reverse decades of U.S. drug policy.

Trump said on Monday that he was considering an executive order to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug – a decision that could reshape the cannabis industry, ease criminal penalties and unlock billions in research funding.

Such a shift would represent one of the most significant federal changes to marijuana policy in decades, reducing oversight to the level of common prescription drugs and potentially opening doors long closed to banks and investors.

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The precise contents of Trump’s potential order were not immediately clear.

While Trump “is currently expected to address marijuana rescheduling tomorrow, any details of this potential action until officially announced by the White House are speculation,” said the Trump administration official, who declined to be named.

Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance like heroin, ecstasy and peyote. That classification indicates it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Local authorities often impose more lax regulations over weed, allowing medical or recreational use.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that he was looking at pushing for weed to be reclassified under Schedule III, alongside Tylenol mixed with codeine, ketamine and testosterone. “We are looking at that very strongly,” he said at the time.

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Initial reports that Trump might loosen restrictions on the psychoactive drug sent stocks of cannabis-related companies higher. They stand to benefit by making more cannabis products.

“Rescheduling it would really open the floodgates to more and more smart conversation about the proper way to regulate and tax cannabis, would show that the federal government is real about getting to coming up with a solution so that these businesses can operate like every other business,” said Steve Levine, partner and co-leader of the law firm Husch Blackwell’s national cannabis practice.

Funding remains one of the biggest challenges for cannabis producers, as federal restrictions keep most banks and institutional investors out of the sector, forcing pot producers to turn to costly loans or alternative lenders.

The Biden administration previously asked the Department of Health and Human Services to review marijuana’s classification, and the agency recommended moving it to Schedule III classification. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration has to review the recommendation and will decide on the reclassification.

“A potential reclassification in the U.S. would be an important step toward normalizing cannabis policy, improving research, supporting patient care, and expanding access to regulated and safe channels for both consumers and patients,” said a spokesperson for Canopy Growth, a Canada-based cannabis firm.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Mariam E Sunny; Editing by Chris Reese and Lisa Shumaker)