rewrite this title and make it good for SEOPresident Trump orders marijuana rescheduling, CBD coverage

President Donald Trump on Thursday ushered in the most momentous shift in federal marijuana policy since 1970 with an executive order directing federal law to be changed to recognize cannabis as a less dangerous drug and acknowledge for the first time its medical benefits.

“I promised to be the president of common sense, and that is exactly what we are doing,” said Trump, flanked by Cabinet and health officials and veterans advocates during an Oval Office signing ceremony.

“This is really something having to do with common sense.”

Trump’s executive order directs the Justice Department to “take all necessary steps” to move marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act “in the most expeditious manner in accordance with Federal law.”

Exactly when cannabis would become Schedule 3, a designation that recognizes marijuana’s medical value under federal law but also its potential for abuse and physical and psychological dependence, was not immediately clear.

Attorney General Pam Bondi must cancel a still-paused rescheduling process dating from the Biden era, stuck in limbo since Trump’s second inauguration, and publish a new final rule in the Federal Register, legal experts said.

And that’s guaranteed to draw a legal challenge from legalization opponents, which could further delay cannabis’ move to Schedule 3.

Trump’s executive order recognizes an August 2023 finding from the Department of Health and Human Services that cannabis has a currently accepted medical use in the United States.

“It’s something having to do with the fact that so many people that I respect asked me to do it – people that are having problems, big problems with illness,” Trump said. “With cancer in particular.”

But marijuana rescheduling does not legalize the drug “in any way shape or form and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” Trump said.

“It has nothing to do with that.”

Marijuana rescheduling means tax relief for plant-touching cannabis businesses is coming

Nor will it immediately change how cannabis is currently produced and sold under state law. However, rescheduling does free the $32 billion legal U.S. cannabis industry from 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, promising near-immediate benefits in the form of federal tax relief.

Along with boosting plant-touching cannabis companies’ margins, rescheduling is also expected to encourage major institutional investors to enter the cannabis space, and may convince major exchanges like the NASDAQ to list publicly traded cannabis companies.

“Today’s historic cannabis rescheduling announcement marks a significant milestone and transformative policy shift that paves the way for America’s next great homegrown industry to finally reach its full potential by serving patients, creating jobs, unlocking economic growth, and reversing decades of harmful prohibitionist policies,” George Archos, CEO and founder of Chicago-based marijuana multistate operator Verano Holdings Corp. said in a statement

“We’re grateful to President Trump for recognizing the overwhelming majority of Americans who support cannabis rescheduling, opening the door to federal reform, medical research, and normalization for an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of professionals and contributes billions of dollars in taxes and economic activity every year.”

Other sought-after reforms, such as banking protections and interstate commerce, will have to wait for further action, likely from Congress.

And though certain cannabis-specific barriers to researching the drug will remain, marijuana rescheduling is also expected to encourage research. Institutions, such as public universities that receive federal funding, may be less wary about handling the drug.

Medicare coverage for CBD treatments and revisiting hemp THC ban

Trump’s order Thursday may also boost the $28.3 billion hemp sector, still reeling from the redefinition of hemp Trump signed into law last month that bans most popular hemp-derived THC products.

Noting that “hemp-derived cannabinoid products … have shown potential to improve patient symptoms for common ailments and are frequently used by Americans,” the order directs presidential staff to work with Congress to update the definition of hemp to allow “access to full-spectrum CBD products.”

It also directs cabinet officials including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to “develop research methods and models utilizing real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products.”

That could mean Congress will revisit the limit, currently scheduled to take effect in November 2026, of no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container of final hemp-derived cannabinoid product.

But that would require working against Trump’s own party, including the 22 Senate Republicans who signed a letter Thursday urging him to reconsider.

Left out of the presidential executive order was any coverage for CBD or other cannabis treatments under Medicare, a possibility that some in the sector anticipated.

However, Oz did announce a soon-to-be-launched pilot program under CMS’ Innovation Center that will “allow millions of Americans on Medicare to become eligible to receive CBD as early as April of next year and at no charge, if their doctors recommend them.”

Eligible patients, including those on Medicare Advantage programs administered by private insurance companies, could receive “up to $500” per year to cover hemp-derived CBD products – provided the products meet certain standards of safety and quality, Oz said.

Legal cannabis industry and Mar-a-Lago member influenced Trump to reschedule marijuana

The executive order is the culmination of a lengthy personal influence campaign led by two people in particular: Howard Kessler, a Mar-a-Lago Club member; as well as Kim Rivers, the CEO of Tallahassee, Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

Kessler was in the Oval Office on Thursday.

“I’m telling you, he looks better than he did 20 years ago,” Trump said. “It looks like you’re doing great. I’m proud of you.”

In a statement Thursday, Rivers praised Trump’s “bold and historic direction.”

“Trulieve is grateful for the decisive action taken by the Administration that acknowledges the medical benefits of cannabis, supports licensed and regulated operators, and allows law enforcement agencies to prosecute bad actors.

“We are committed to supporting the Administration throughout this process.”

Share prices in Trulieve stock tumbled as part of a general sell-off Thursday. Trulieve lost more than 20% of its value.

New York-based Curaleaf Holdings lost more than 30%.

“President Trump’s executive order has unleashed a seismic shift in healthcare – one of the boldest breakthroughs in generations,” Kessler said in a statement.

Kessler’s organization produced a video extolling CBD’s potential to treat health problems in seniors, which Trump posted to his Truth Social page in September.

“While the rescheduling of cannabis will dominate the headlines, it’s his revolutionary pilot Medicare program that brings immediate, life-altering relief and access to cannabinoid-based therapies for millions of seniors grappling with chronic pain and debilitating conditions,” Kessler added.

Both Oz and Trump hinted at the influence campaign on Thursday.

“Howard Kessler, God bless you for being a pain in our sides,” Oz said. “Mister President, he’s promised to stop calling you – on this issue.”

Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.