Congressional researchers say they are uncertain whether the previous administration’s tentative plans to reschedule marijuana will advance under President Donald Trump. Former President Biden and his administration had proposed rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, but the plans didn’t crystallize before Biden’s term elapsed.
With President Trump publicly stating his disapproval of many of Biden’s measures, congressional researchers say it ‘remains to be seen’ how he will handle marijuana rescheduling. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report analyzing various marijuana-specific topics lawmakers could consider when Congress opens for sessions.
In addition to expressing uncertainty over the future of cannabis rescheduling in the Trump administration, congressional researchers also noted in the report that it was ‘unknown’ if the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would finalize the previous administration’s proposed measure to reschedule marijuana.
According to the report, the divergence between state and federal marijuana policies has grown over the past few years amidst an expanding wave of cannabis reform that has seen more than two dozen states pass some cannabis reform. The Biden administration also granted clemency to thousands of people with non-violent marijuana convictions, a trend that likely would have continued under a Harris presidency.
However, with Trump in power and Congress under the GOP’s control, experts and industry stakeholders are unsure of whether the U.S. will move forward with plans to reschedule the controversial drug. Some hope that President Trump’s support for states setting their marijuana laws, and a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana in Florida coupled with his rescheduling endorsement could spur Congress to take action on cannabis.
On the other hand, other stakeholders and advocates are less optimistic. Both the Senate and House have leaders who oppose cannabis reform, acting as a major barrier to any kind of action on cannabis, and the DEA, which would play a key role in the rescheduling process, doesn’t have any love for cannabis reform either. Certain administrative figures such as the acting head of the agency criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to reschedule cannabis and made sensational claims regarding marijuana use.
The CRS noted that DEA cannabis arrests declined annually during President Trump’s first administration but said that only time would tell how his second administration would deal with cannabis regulation. While the Justice Department has already begun acting on the reclassification proposal, it is up to the Drug Enforcement authority to finalize the rule.
This uncertainty regarding the possibility of marijuana reclassification happening sooner rather than later is likely to weigh on the long term plans of industry actors like Verano Holdings Corp. (CSE: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF) because the lack of clarity adversely affects strategic planning by these entities.
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