Name: How Trumps move to ease marijuana regulations impacts the industry
Uploaded: 2025-12-19T00:40:30.141Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (December 18) signed an order recommending the loosening of federal regulations on marijuana, a move that could further reverse decades of tough-on-weed policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (December 18) signed an order recommending the loosening of federal regulations on marijuana, a move that could further reverse decades of tough-on-weed policy.

Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an order recommending that federal regulations on marijuana be eased, initiating a significant shift in U.S. drug policy. The order directs the attorney general to move forward with reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, potentially moving it from Schedule I to Schedule III.

Trump clarified that this reclassification would not legalize marijuana or permit its recreational use. While cannabis stocks rose after the announcement, legal experts noted that the change does not resolve the conflict between state and federal law, and banks may remain cautious in dealing with the cannabis industry. Advocates believe the federal shift could lead to greater acceptance and stability for the industry over time.

How Trump's move to ease marijuana regulations impacts the industry

That's a good one. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order on Thursday that recommends easing federal regulations on marijuana, kickstarting one of the most significant changes to the drug's policy in decades. We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain. A senior administration official says Trump's order directs his attorney general to quickly move ahead with reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting it alongside common painkillers. I don't want it, OK? But Trump, a well-known abstainer of alcohol and drugs, says he doesn't want to use marijuana himself, and emphasized a reclassification would not legalize it. Does it legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug? It has nothing to do with it. Under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug like heroin and ecstasy, meaning it has no accepted medical use. In order to list it as a Schedule III drug, the Drug Enforcement Administration has to review the recommendation and will decide on the reclassification. Cannabis stocks jumped after initial reports that Trump may loosen restrictions. Vanderbilt University law professor Robert Mikos says banks and investors would likely remain wary of cannabis companies, as a reclassification wouldn't resolve the conflict between state and federal law. Until you make it truly lawful under federal law to make and sell this drug, banks are going to continue to be leery of dealing with companies in this industry. So this change by itself wouldn't remove that obstacle. However, Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, says the federal shift will create long-term change. Over time, banks and credit unions and other financial institutions will become more comfortable with the fact that this industry is here, it's here to stay, and that clearly the federal government itself is also becoming more comfortable with this industry and more accepting of it.

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