Trump “Rescheduling” Cannabis: What This Actually Does (And Who It Screws Anyway)

OG article by Boof du Jour

December 17, 2025

The article critiques the proposed rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under Trump, arguing it is superficial reform that primarily benefits large cannabis companies without addressing deeper issues. It explains that rescheduling eliminates IRS Code 280E, allowing multi-state operators (MSOs), private equity, and their CFOs to deduct basic business expenses like rent, payroll, marketing, and utilities, thus aiding their financial recovery from past restrictions. However, small operators, legacy growers, and social equity license holders receive no significant relief and continue struggling with state fees. For state-by-state legal markets, rescheduling changes nothing structurally: no interstate commerce, federal protections, banking reforms, or national market integration occur, leaving states to maintain their independent regulations, such as Missouri's ongoing issues, California's financial inefficiencies, and New York's delayed rollouts. Regarding prisoners, rescheduling provides no automatic releases, sentence reductions, mass clemency, or retroactive relief; it merely acknowledges cannabis as medicine retrospectively, leaving incarcerated individuals to serve full terms. For individuals with past convictions, no federal expungement, record clearing, job protections, or housing relief is granted; background checks still result in denials, loans are refused, and employment explanations are required, creating irony where legal purchases are possible but prior use remains penalizing. In drug testing and employment, employers can still terminate workers, federal contractors and DOT maintain testing, and parole officers enforce restrictions, rendering cannabis medically accepted yet professionally hazardous. The subtext is that this is a political optics move and tax adjustment disguised as progress, aiding company survival and campaigns but not justice, legalization, or compassion for those harmed by prohibition. Ultimately, it admits cannabis is not as dangerous as heroin without apologies, releases, record fixes, or ending the drug war, leaving systemic punishments intact while commercialization proceeds. Additional context emphasizes how this fails to rectify decades of harm, prioritizing corporate interests over equitable reform and true decriminalization efforts.