Marijuana Rescheduling Review Remains ‘Ongoing’...

It’s been about three months since President Donald Trump said he’d be
making a final decision on a pending marijuana rescheduling proposal within
weeks—and a White House spokesperson tells Marijuana Moment that the
process remains “ongoing.”

Amid contentious debates in Congress over a ban on most consumable hemp
products that was signed by Trump on Wednesday, some have been left
wondering what, if anything, the president’s support for that policy change
means for the plan to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the
Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Asked about the issue, a White House spokesperson didn’t directly respond
to reports about Trump’s hemp position but told Marijuana Moment on
Wednesday that “there is a process ongoing regarding the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on rescheduling marijuana from May 2024 and all policy and legal
requirements and implications are being considered.”

Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as marijuana industry banking access
and a Florida adult-use legalization initiative that ultimately failed—on
the campaign trail ahead of his election to a second term. But when he was
pressed on the status of the rescheduling process in mid-August, he was
less clear about his personal stance.

The administration was “only looking at that” reform, and it’s too “early”
to say how the issue will be decided, he said at the time, adding that
“it’s a very complicated subject.”

“Some people like it. Some people hate it—people hate the whole concept of
marijuana, because it does bad for the children [and] it does bad for
people that are older than children,” the president said. “But we’re
looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over the next
few weeks—and that determination, hopefully, will be the right one.”

“I’ve heard great things having to do with medical [cannabis], and I’ve
heard bad things having to do with just about everything else,” Trump said.
“But medical, for pain and various things, I’ve heard some pretty good
things—but for other things, I’ve heard some pretty bad things.”

Meanwhile, top White House staffers under the Biden administration recently
shed new light on the mass marijuana pardon and cannabis rescheduling
process they helped facilitate, revealing the extent to which they were
involved in broader clemency actions that are now under scrutiny by GOP
leaders.

Also, as the marijuana rescheduling proposal awaits action, some GOP
members of Congress have been urging Trump to move forward with the
reform—with one lawmaker taking a jab at Biden by joking that it’s possible the
prior administration “must have not been able to find the autopen in time”
to complete the cannabis reform process it initiated.


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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) told Marijuana Moment last month that it’s “extremely
concerning the Trump administration continues to drag its feet” on a
marijuana reform—including the pending cannabis rescheduling decision.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) separately told AskAPol in September that he
feels that Trump advancing rescheduling would be an “important domino” to
advance bipartisan cannabis banking legislation.

The senator, who is expected to be the lead sponsor of the legislation this
Congress, previously said that the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation
(SAFER) Banking Act would be taken up this fall.

Separately, the president last month posted a video on his Truth Social
platform promoting the health benefits of cannabis—suggesting that covering
CBD under Medicare would be “the most important senior health initiative of
the century.”

The post Marijuana Rescheduling Review Remains ‘Ongoing’ Three Months After
Trump Announced Imminent Decision, White House Staffer Says appeared first
on Marijuana Moment.