Trump expected to reclassify marijuana

Cannabis stocks surged Friday on word that President Donald Trump intends to sign an executive order that would loosen federal restrictions on marijuana.

The White House said no final decisions have been made yet, but the Trump administration has been considering a reclassification of cannabis for a while.

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Cannabis is currently in the same drug category as heroin and cocaine. The proposed order would reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug, alongside drugs like Tylenol with codeine.

The category matters a lot for the sustainability of California’s legal cannabis industry, which is struggling on several fronts at the moment.

Assemblymember Matt Haney said current rules mean the industry can’t operate like others do.

“You can’t operate like a regular small business, you can’t deduct your rent and utilities and business costs in the same way that any other small business is allowed to, and you’re charged more by banks and credit cards,” Haney said. “Often these type of costs that the federal government puts on small businesses, because they’re treating cannabis like hard drugs, lead to these businesses being unsustainable, unable to operate, shutting down, unable to compete with the illegal illicit market.”

If the executive order is signed, the Drug Enforcement Administration would then finalize a proposed rule for reclassification later next year.