Pot Inc. was celebrating Trump’s rescue — but cannabis companies still can’t be banked

OG article by Charles Gasparino

December 29, 2025

President Donald Trump's executive order on December 18, 2025, reclassified marijuana from a Schedule-1 to a Schedule-3 controlled substance, aiming to facilitate banking for the $60 billion cannabis industry. The industry celebrated, expecting access to services from major banks like JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup, which had previously avoided cannabis businesses due to federal regulations. However, bank executives and lawyers reviewed the order and concluded it primarily permits banking for medical use, not recreational, rendering most cannabis operations ineligible under federal law enforced by the Federal Reserve. Cannabis remains a controlled substance, with state legalizations not affecting national banking rules. Banks expressed interest in the business but fear regulatory issues, such as filing suspicious activity reports for loans. Industry advocate Marc Cohodes, a former hedge fund trader who lobbied the White House, argues banks misinterpret the order's intent for U.S.-based banking and compares the situation to past debanking of crypto and conservative businesses. He highlights medical marijuana's market size and recreational approval in 41 states. Banks seek clearer federal legislation to enable services without risks.