Trump fast-tracks cannabis classification, helps hemp industry
In a move with implications for both the marijuana and hemp industries, President Trump today signed an executive order telling the attorney general to complete the rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule 1 to Schedule III drug “in the most expeditious manner.”
He also ordered his administration to work with Congress “to update the statutory definition of final hemp-derived cannabinoid products to allow Americans to benefit from access to appropriate full-spectrum CBD products while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks.”
The executive order says both medical marijuana and hemp-derived cannabinoid products “have shown potential to improve patient symptoms for common ailments and are frequently used by Americans.”
The executive order is titled “Increasing medical marijuana and cannabidiol research,” but its impact is likely to be much greater.
The executive order also makes Medicare beneficiaries eligible to receive up to $500 in hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products a year at no cost starting next April, said Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Barron’s reported.
The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp production, but the development of hemp-derived CBD products has been controversial, and the recent bill that reopened the government contained a provision controlling CBD products.
Fox News reported today that Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., who is also chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, are leading 24 other GOP lawmakers in a letter to Trump, urging him to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug under Drug Enforcement Administration regulations.
Cannabis stocks fell Thursday, a signal that investors had hoped Trump would legalize recreational marijuana use, Barron’s reported.
The executive order was the subject of widespread news coverage and debate today.
