Will rescheduling move forward under Trump? 🤔

RESCHEDULING
What’s next for rescheduling under Trump?

Driving the news: The process to reclassify cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to Schedule III, initiated by former President Joe Biden, was supposed to kick off with administrative hearings in January.

It’s now April, and we haven’t heard much since the hearings were delayed. It’s unclear how President Donald Trump’s Administration plans to approach the issue, despite his posts in support on the campaign trail.

For what it’s worth, cannabis policy didn’t appear anywhere on the list of federal drug policy priorities for new Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Sara Carter earlier this week. 

What happened: In a panel hosted by Ohio State University’s Drug Policy and Enforcement Center on Tuesday, former officials shared why they’re not crossing their fingers for rescheduling anytime soon.

Matt Lawrence, a former Drug Enforcement Agency official, said rescheduling will only move forward if it’s a political priority for Trump. He expects that the DEA will kick the can down the road. 

“I leave that to political experts to kind of make that prediction,” Lawrence said. “But if it’s not a political priority — or if it’s a mixed political thing, like it’s a win and a loss — then you’ve got to assume it’s going to be the can-kicking approach.” 

And: “It might be that things stalling out is kind of the path of least resistance forward, particularly if this just isn’t a priority in one direction or another,” OSU Law professor Patricia Zettler said.

Zettler is a former Deputy General Counsel to the US Department of Health and Human Services. She added that the new DEA administrator, Terrance Cole, is a career official which may not bode well for institutional inertia against reform. 

Back up: The hearings were scuttled last year when pro-reform groups felt like they weren’t going to get a fair shake. There’s been no update as to when — or if — they’ll continue.

The final word: Despite the fact that Schedule III is far from legalization, it would go a long way toward improving sentiment around the cannabis industry.

It would also help normalize the industry’s relationship to the banking sector, and would get rid of the 280E tax which pushed effective tax rates to unsustainable levels for most cannabis businesses. 

-JB

Texas lawmakers debate hemp ban 🤠

Texas lawmakers are debating two bills that would severely restrict intoxicating hemp products in the state. SB3, passed by the Senate in March, would ban all THC products altogether while HB28 would ban synthetic THC gummies but regulate hemp-infused beverages like alcohol. Read more.

Tilray’s tough quarter 📉

Tilray posted its third-quarter results. The company reported a $794 million net loss or 87 cents per share on $186 million in revenue. The company reported nearly $700 million in impairment charges. 

Go deeper: The company reported $54.3 million in cannabis revenue, down from $63.4 million the year prior. But beverage alcohol revenue increased to $56 million from $54.7 million the year prior. 

And more: The company said that Trump’s tariffs “should not impact sales,” as its alcohol brands are solely manufactured in the US, and its Manitoba Harvest brand is exempt from tariffs. 

The final word: Tilray is now more an alcohol business than a cannabis business, at least by revenue. The stock fell nearly 22% on Tuesday. 

-JB

Canada’s cannabis policy is displacing the illicit market 🇨🇦

Canada’s coherent, federal approach to cannabis policy is achieving one of its primary goals by displacing the illicit market, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy. Still, the study found that expenditures associated with the program are increasing. A majority of Canadians say that cannabis legalization is a crowning achievement of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tenure. Read the study here.

Cannabis fintech firm Spendr raised $2.7 million to “blend payments and rewards” in the cannabis space, reports the Cincinnati Business Journal.

Maryland’s high-demand marijuana market undermined by restrictions, delays | MJBizDaily

Ice-T Says He Doesn’t Get High—So Why Did He Open A Cannabis Dispensary With A Playboy Playmate? | Forbes