Cara Brown McCormick
If reports prove accurate, tomorrow may mark the most significant shift in federal drug policy in 55 years. Multiple administration sources are signaling that President Trump is poised to follow through on what has long been teased: rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
Since 1970, cannabis has shared the same legal category as heroin, a classification that ignored decades of science, the experience of millions of patients, and the realities of a multi-billion-dollar legal industry operating in 24 states.
By reclassifying cannabis to Schedule III, President Trump would keep his campaign promise to formally recognize accepted medical use under federal law and unlock new pathways for research and business operations.
Yet, as the move edges closer, the reaction from parts of the media has been revealing. Correspondents on Fox News have been in overdrive this week, fixating on the potency of modern cannabis products and warning of public health risks.
The irony, of course, is that potency is not an argument against rescheduling; it is the reason for it.
For years, critics of federal reform have argued that keeping cannabis illegal prevents misuse. In reality, prohibition has pushed the market underground, where quality control, dosage transparency, and age limits mean nothing.
Licensed cannabis offers seed-to-sale traceability: when a contaminant is detected, regulators can pinpoint the farm, batch, and lab results within hours. With “gas‑station weed,” the supply chain often ends at a P.O. Box. This is precisely the kind of unregulated commerce rescheduling seeks to end.
In October, IVN reported on a misleading Fox News segment about 106 drivers with THC in their systems who died in car crashes, showing how media networks can package limited research findings into sensationalized news that seeks to influence political debate. Fox & Friends sprang into action just days after former President Trump shared a pro-medical-cannabis video on his social media accounts, signaling his potential support for rescheduling cannabis at the federal level.
By moving cannabis to Schedule III, the federal government would not be legalizing it outright, but it would be creating a framework where the product can be studied, standardized, and sold by licensed, taxpaying businesses. That shift could hit criminal cartels harder than any symbolic war on drugs ever has.
Legitimate cannabis companies have paid nearly $2 billion more in federal taxes than comparable businesses due to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which prohibits tax deductions for companies handling Schedule I or II substances. Rescheduling would finally relieve that burden, giving licensed operators a fighting chance against the illicit market.
The Washington Post reported on December 11 that, according to six people familiar with the discussions, President Trump was expected to make his move imminently. Trump discussed the matter on a December 10 call with House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as marijuana industry executives, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Mehmet Oz.