Cannabis industry observers believe it is increasingly likely that President Donald Trump will soon sign an executive order directing federal agencies to complete the marijuana rescheduling process. But multiple reports indicate that the directive could also contain additional components touching on cannabis business banking access and Medicare coverage for CBD.
The exact details of the executive order aren’t clear, but White House sources seem to be coalescing around the idea that it will be signed on Thursday and will instruct the Justice Department to proceed with plans to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
A source familiar with fluid discussions around the administrative action also told Marijuana Moment that Trump may couple the presidential directive with clemency for some people who have been convicted over federal marijuana offenses. Neither that plan, nor the reported details about cannabis banking or CBD and health care, have yet been confirmed, however.
According to NBC News, the potentially imminent executive order may contain an explicit push from the president urging Congress to pass a bipartisan bill titled the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, which would prevent federal regulators for penalizing financial institutions simply for working with state-licensed marijuana businesses.
The lack of banking access for the cannabis industry was also raised in a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.
It’s also being speculated that the plan is to take a novel—albeit logistically complicated—approach to cannabinol, a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant that’s widely used as a health supplement. Sources have said that drafts of the executive order have called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to amend its rules to let people on Medicare receive reimbursements for the cannabinoid product.
That potential reform was also floated in a video from The Commonwealth Project touting the health benefits of CBD that Trump shared on Truth Social in late September.
CMS implemented a rule in April specifically stipulating that marijuana, as well as CBD that can be derived from federally legal hemp, are ineligible for coverage under its Medicare Advantage program and other services. But the agency has since revised the proposed rule, just weeks before the expected administrative order by Trump.
Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House for clarification on the rumored executive order, but a spokesperson did not respond by the time of publication.
On Monday, Trump said he is “very strongly” considering rescheduling cannabis in part to ease restrictions on research into its effects.
Opponents of the policy change have stepped up their efforts to dissuade the administration from moving forward, arguing that a reclassification to Schedule III will further normalize marijuana use even though it would not federally legalize the plant. Rescheduling would, however, let marijuana businesses take federal tax deductions while reducing certain research barriers associated with Schedule I drugs.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), one of the more vocal prohibitionists in Congress, said this week that Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally reschedule marijuana via executive order. But while lawmakers could overrule any administrative move to enact the reform, it would be a “heavy lift” in the Republican-controlled Congress, he acknowledged.
Meanwhile, multiple top congressional Democrats are making the case that the modest reform would not go far enough—including Sen. Ron Wyden (R-OR) who said the move is only an attempt by the president to “gaslight” voters into thinking he legalized cannabis to boost his “pathetic” approval ratings.
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