🚨🚨 BREAKING: TRUMP RESCHEDULES CANNABIS 🚨🚨

WASHINGTON, D.C. –After months of speculation, President Trump Issues Executive Order Directing Federal Rescheduling of Cannabis to Schedule III

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to complete the rescheduling of Cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This is the most significant federal Cannabis policy move in decades.

The order instructs the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration to advance and conclude the administrative rulemaking process that began in 2024, following the Department of Health and Human Services’ finding that Cannabis has accepted medical use. The message from the White House is clear: finish the process rather than delay, abandon, or restart it.

What the Executive Order Does
• Directs the DEA to move forward with rescheduling Cannabis to Schedule III
• Re-activates proceedings before a DEA Administrative Law Judge
• Orders completion of the administrative record
• Instructs publication of a Final Rule in the Federal Register
• Signals executive branch alignment around rescheduling

The executive order itself does not reschedule Cannabis. Under the Controlled Substances Act, final rescheduling still requires agency action, completion of hearings, and issuance of a final rule.

Why This Matters Immediately
• Section 280E relief becomes available once Schedule III takes effect, removing a major tax burden for state-legal, plant-touching Cannabis businesses
• Banking, lending, and institutional investment risk may materially decline
• Federal recognition of accepted medical use fundamentally shifts regulatory posture

President Trump has stated that rescheduling is necessary to accelerate research, reduce stigma, unlock investment, and remove structural barriers that have constrained the industry for decades.

What This Does Not Do
• Cannabis is not federally legalized
• State medical and adult-use systems remain intact
• Interstate commerce is not automatically authorized
• FDA regulation does not override state frameworks

What Comes Next
• DEA hearings must resume and conclude
• A Final Rule must be issued, likely over months rather than weeks
• Litigation is expected on both procedural and substantive grounds
• OMB review may apply depending on the regulatory pathway
• An expedited or emergency approach is possible, but carries higher legal risk

Here’s our summary:

Bottom Line
This executive order is a decisive federal signal and a major inflection point for the Cannabis industry. Implementation will take time and legal challenges are inevitable, but the direction is now unmistakable. Federal Cannabis policy has shifted in a material and durable way.

More to come as agencies act and timelines become clearer. Follow Highly Capitalized Network for all the breaking news and views.