By Brian Vicente
As the world waits for an announcement from the Trump Administration regarding rescheduling, alternatives arise. The path forward on federal marijuana policy may come from executive actions on anything from banking to Tribal sovereignty.
After a years-long process, the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) looks promising but remains uncertain.
As is true in most circumstances, understanding what comes next requires a clear picture of where we have been. So, how did we get to this point, and what’s next for cannabis under Trump?
Rescheduling: A Storied History and an Uncertain Future
It’s hard to believe, but rescheduling has been championed as a strong policy position for the federal government’s approach to marijuana for nearly three years now. Starting in October 2022 with an executive order by then-President Biden, the rescheduling process officially began with a mandate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review the classification of marijuana under federal law. Nearly a year later, the HHS officially recommended that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reschedule marijuana from Schedule I under the CSA. By the beginning of summer 2024, the DEA had published a proposed rule and submitted it for public comment. Hearings were scheduled and participants were selected, but by January of this year, the entire process had halted indefinitely.
As of late August 2025, Trump publicly stated his administration was “looking at” rescheduling and would decide the issue within the coming weeks. In the time since, rumors have been swirling around how the Trump administration will approach cannabis policy. Even if the rescheduling efforts initiated during President Biden’s term end up perishing in the flames of partisan politics, this is not the end of the story on federal marijuana policy reform. Most media coverage has focused on whether cannabis lands in Schedule III. This piece intentionally looks beyond that to examine four other federal policy shifts that could prove just as consequential. Moving forward, there are several possible avenues for the federal government to come up to speed with the public consensus on the need for national cannabis policy changes. Here are the top four new cannabis policies that we might see from the Trump administration as we await an announcement on rescheduling.
Top 4 New Federal Cannabis Policies Shifts Trump Could Push Forward Without Congress
Many cannabis industry advocates remain skeptical regarding the future of rescheduling under Trump. Rescheduling marijuana may or may not be a realistic outcome under this administration, but this does not imply that no changes are under consideration. The executive branch holds significant authority to reshape federal cannabis policy, even without Congress. These four policy moves represent the most likely shifts in federal cannabis policy that we will see under Trump aside from a rescheduling announcement.
Policy #1: New Federal Enforcement Memorandum
One of the most straightforward moves the Trump administration could make is to revive or update the Cole Memorandum. This Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance document had previously set enforcement priorities, ensuring federal prosecutors steer clear of targeting state-compliant medical cannabis programs. Reinstating this memo and expressly applying its updated terms to state-regulated recreational markets would give states, medical marijuana patients, and adult-use recreational cannabis consumers much-needed clarity without requiring congressional action.
Policy #2: Improving Banking Access Through Executive Action
In the absence of a new Cole Memorandum, a standalone executive order could explicitly direct federal resources and scrutiny away from banks that service state-regulated cannabis operators. In effect, an executive order could establish a safe harbor for financial institutions and other financial service providers that choose to support cannabis businesses but are deterred from doing so under the current regime. Any protection that could shield banks from federal prosecution or regulatory overreach would relieve some of the compliance pressures financial providers feel when serving clients in the cannabis space. In addition to helping integrate cannabis businesses into the mainstream financial system, this would help lend greater regulatory certainty to a constantly evolving patchwork of state and local policies.
Policy #3: Tribal Cannabis Policy Clarification
The Trump administration could take steps to reinforce Tribal sovereignty in cannabis markets by reissuing the Wilkinson Memo, which recognizes Tribal authority over cannabis programs. The 2014 memorandum had extended the guidance of the earlier Cole Memo to Native American Tribes, ultimately deprioritizing enforcement of federal cannabis prohibitions on sovereign Native American lands. It was rescinded during the first Trump administration in 2018, but federal enforcement policy remains in line with the Cole and Wilkinson memoranda. Even so, the risk of a federal raid looms over Native American communities that are considering regulated cannabis programs, and an updated policy would greatly mitigate risk and bolster operational certainty. Vicente LLP, in partnership with the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA), released a first-of-its-kind map highlighting 56 Tribal cannabis and hemp initiatives across the United States in order to help contribute to the expanding narrative on Indigenous cannabis and hemp operations.
Policy #4: Shift the Federal Narrative Away from Prohibition
Perhaps the most powerful step the administration could take is not legal, but rhetorical. If President Trump formally acknowledges cannabis’s undeniable medical value, we will have witnessed the first break in federal prohibitionist rhetoric in a generation. Any statement regarding the legitimacy of state and Tribal medical and recreational cannabis programs could begin to erode the decades of harmful stigma. Framed within the long-term vision of eventual descheduling, even a small narrative shift would help normalize cannabis in national discourse and pave the way for future reforms.
Conclusion
Hope remains for an imminent announcement regarding rescheduling. As the world watches and the cannabis industry waits, stakeholders hold out hope for intermediate reforms.
Even if cannabis remains a Schedule I substance, executive action alone could reshape banking, enforcement, and state and Tribal sovereignty in ways that bring federal policy more in line with the public consensus regarding cannabis. Even if the only change we see in this presidential administration is a shift in the failed rhetoric of federal prohibition, we can count this achievement as an incremental win in the long and hard-fought battle towards responsible cannabis regulation.
Brian Vicente is a founder of the leading cannabis law firm Vicente LLP.
This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent High Times’ reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.
The Trump White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
