Trump’s order on cannabis goes only so far. Here’s why he should legalize it.

In perhaps the biggest shift in federal drug policy since the Nixon era, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would downgrade cannabis from the most restrictive category of drugs.

While the reclassification from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act is a good start — and allows for more research — it stops well short of legalizing cannabis for adults. Trump should take the political win — and then go for the whole enchilada and push Congress to decriminalize cannabis and allow states to set their own rules. 

Trump should take the political win — and then go for the whole enchilada and push Congress to decriminalize cannabis and allow states to set their own rules.

There are two big potential gains for Trump in legalizing cannabis. It would be good politics for a president who’s struggling in the polls. And it could unleash the cannabis industry’s potential to create thousands of jobs, fuel economic growth, generate tax revenue and become a multibillion-dollar “Made in America” industry — exactly the sort of thing Trump craves. 

Here is what the executive order that Trump signed does and, importantly, doesn’t do: Reclassification is the purview of the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. The president does not have the power to do this with the stroke of a pen. The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi, who oversees the DEA, to “expedite” a process initiated under the Biden administration that fizzled out earlier this year. The order also directs relevant federal agencies to research the medical benefits of CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabis compound. Notably, it does not include any provisions around expunging records for those convicted of cannabis offenses, nor does it acknowledge the long, sordid history of the “war on drugs.”

With respect to implementation, the devil is in the details. The White House has published the executive order, but it’s not clear how long it will take for the reclassification to become official. The biggest effect will be a tax windfall for cannabis cultivators and sellers, who, thanks to an archaic IRS rule, aren’t able to deduct expenses like any other legal business. It may also be a symbolic step toward normalizing the cannabis industry’s access to the financial system, allowing these businesses to open checking accounts and lines of credit. 

But the order does nothing to rectify the conflicts between state and federal law when it comes to cannabis.

But the order does nothing to rectify the conflicts between state and federal law when it comes to cannabis. The drug is legal for adults in 24 states, and 40 states have medical cannabis regulations on the books. Under a Schedule III designation — which includes such prescription drugs such as Tylenol with codeine — pot shops in all of those 24 states would still violate federal law.

This untenable situation helps no one. Those 24 states include the most populous and economically powerful cities: Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago. As it stands, the federal government is still telling millions of cannabis consumers, and the businesses that supply them, that what they are doing is illegal. 

For his part, Trump focused specifically on the medical and research implications of the bill. 

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“I have friends that are really, really sick … and they realize that this is something that makes them feel better, without all of the side effects,” he told reporters in an Oval Office signing ceremony. He also said: “I want to emphasize that the order I am about to sign is not the legalization or doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug.” 

The president doesn’t need to like something to understand that it’s good politics.

But the president doesn’t need to like something to understand that it’s good politics. “I’ve never been inundated by so many people as I have about this,” he said, adding that polls show 82% of Americans supported the move. Overall, support for legalization sits at about 64%, according to a recent Gallup poll, up from 31% at the turn of the millennium. 

Trump is heading into a contentious midterm season, if the results of November’s elections are any indication. His approval rating is underwater. Just 36% of Americans support how he’s handled the economy so far. His support among 18-to-29-year-olds, the demographic that helped deliver him his second stint in the White House, is free-falling per recent polls as unemployment numbers continue to rise and real wage growth slows. 

Congressional Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, have long campaigned on cannabis reform but failed to get much done while they had a slim majority in the Senate. Trump is smartly stealing a widely bipartisan issue out from under them. As a near-octogenarian teetotaler, he should be commended for going this far especially as the standard-bearer for the Republican Party, which has long lived by Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” mantra. 

But, as Peter Tosh sings, legalizing it could help him flip his popularity around — or at least stanch the bleeding — while delivering clear economic wins. It would be a smart move both for his political future and for the country.