HOLLYWEED ITS A MOVEMENT

Trump’s Pending Rescheduling Decision Tops Hollyweed Times’ August Stories

Michael Levin

The cannabis industry is watching closely as President Donald Trump edges toward a decision on marijuana rescheduling a storyline that dominated Cannabis Business Times’ readership in August.

At an Aug. 11 White House press conference, Trump broke his silence on the issue, telling reporters his administration is “looking at that” and will “make a determination… over the next few weeks.” He turned to Attorney General Pam Bondi while signaling that the timeline was imminent, fueling speculation on whether cannabis will finally move from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

The rescheduling review originally initiated under President Biden has been stalled since January, when a retired DEA administrative law judge paused the hearing process pending an appeal. Now, Trump’s team could choose one of several paths: resume hearings with a new DEA judge, fast-track the rule to finalization, restart the review process from scratch, or abandon the proposal entirely.

The No. 2 most-read story followed Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), who introduced the Marijuana 1-to-3 Act the day after Trump’s remarks. His bill would move cannabis to Schedule III by statute. “It makes zero sense that federal law treats marijuana the same as heroin and LSD,” Steube said. “It is even more ridiculous that cocaine is technically classified as less restrictive than marijuana.”

Other top August stories highlighted the fierce policy battles over hemp-derived THC. Texas legislators once again advanced a Senate bill to ban consumable hemp products, while in Washington, a hemp ban provision was stripped from an agricultural spending bill after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) threatened to block it.

Industry shakeups also grabbed attention, with AYR Wellness exiting Massachusetts and laying off 157 workers, and a well-known lawyer revealing that New York regulators had been mismeasuring dispensary buffer zones an error that left dozens of shops too close to schools.

As Trump’s deadline approaches, the cannabis business community is bracing for a decision that could reshape the regulatory and financial landscape or leave it in limbo once again.