12/12/2025
What Would Change if Cannabis Becomes Schedule III?
With media reporting that Trump may issue an executive order changing cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III as soon as Monday, let’s review what that could mean for patients, consumers, and businesses…
First let’s note that cannabis should not be scheduled at all, but Schedule III is a less harmful mistake than Schedule I.
Second, the various options for rescheduling could take from weeks to years to complete.
The biggest change for the industry would be the removal of 280E, an IRS provision which disallows ordinary deductions and erases earnings.
A trickle down effect of eliminating 280E will be lower consumer pricing.
State-level medical research will be freed up, though federal research may still be suppressed without further action.
The White House says that no final decision has been made, and previous reports of rescheduling have yet to materialize, so it will not be a surprise if this decision continues to drag out.
