“If Trump makes the move to reschedule cannabis…he will be bringing Washington in line with the American people.”
By Roger Stone
Cannabis policy is the best example of America’s yawning gap between public opinion and government paralysis. Majorities of Americans think cannabis in any form should be legal.
Yet at the federal level, Washington has dithered, stumbled and flat-out failed—save for one notable exception.
Donald J. Trump is the exception.
Dereliction by the federal government has forced some states to act alone. Some states have courageously passed medical cannabis or adult use laws to better serve their residents where Washington won’t.
These state reforms clash with federal policies, leaving patients, businesses, and consumers in a legal gray area. Imagine driving across state lines and discovering that what you bought legally at a dispensary—or even a 7-Eleven in some places—could earn you a felony in the next jurisdiction.
This is not freedom. It isn’t fair. This is definitely not certainty.
When Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill, he unleashed the hemp economy—creating jobs, investment and innovation nationwide.
Trump’s actions didn’t only expand the access to hemp-based products that are benign; they also relaunched an entire industry. The future of hundreds of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in investments is now in doubt. But the industry continues to be hampered with uncertainty as Washington is unwilling to reconcile federal legislation with reality.
The question is: What next will Trump?
It is a “either/or”, insists the chattering-class. Either Trump “reschedules” cannabis—moving it from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (where heroin sits, absurdly) to a lower schedule—or he “deschedules” it entirely, removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act altogether and leaving states to decide.
This framing of the issue is incorrect. The issue isn’t either/or. Progress is the goal. Next steps.
It is important to note that rescheduling cannabis does not mean the end of the game. The move would do more than signal a new direction—it would unlock immediate, measurable relief for patients, entrepreneurs and state programs.
The IRS Code 280E currently prevents businesses from taking ordinary tax deductions. By moving cannabis into Schedule III, they would finally be able escape this crushing burden. This single change could level the field and allow dispensaries to tax their cultivators like regular businesses, rather than being penalized as criminals.
A rescheduling could also lead to the opening of banking. Cannabis companies have to work largely with cash today because they are afraid of federal penalties for money laundering. Schedule III wouldn’t solve all obstacles, but would lower the risks enough to allow regional banks and credit cooperatives to finally offer accounts, loan processing, and payment processing. Trump’s one-time action could reduce public safety risk for businesses that rely on cash, improve tax compliance, and unleash billions of dollars in private investment.
The research sector would also flourish. Cannabis could be studied by universities and pharmaceutical companies without having to jump through the near impossible DEA hoops. It would be easy to gather evidence that proves what many already believe: that hemp is useful and safe, CBD is beneficial and benign, and THC should receive fair treatment as a drug and regulated product.
Some parts of cannabis—like hemp as a building material or pulp source—should already be descheduled. CBD is also a candidate. THC should be under close scrutiny until the research proves its worth. It is only by changing the schedule that the research can be done, the myths dispelled, and the bank bottleneck relieved.
The states are prepared. The people are ready. The industry needs certainty. Donald Trump is the only person who has demonstrated a willingness to act.
If Trump makes the move to reschedule cannabis, he won’t just be adjusting federal drug policy—he will be correcting one of the greatest disconnects in American political life. Trump will bring Washington into line with American citizens. He will prove to his critics what they hate the most, that Donald J. Trump is a doer.
Roger Stone was a Republican politician who served as the senior campaign adviser to three Republican presidents, including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.