A White House official says that, as President Donald Trump weighs whether to follow through with a marijuana rescheduling proposal that was initiated during the Biden administration, there’s a growing understanding that cannabis reform is “good politics”—comparing the issue to how same-sex marriage gradually gained bipartisan support over time.
In interviews with The Free Press that were published on Wednesday, a White House official, a congressional lawmaker, MAGA influencers in Trump’s orbit, industry sources and others shared their perspective on the administration’s current thinking on marijuana—with some sources indicating that a decision could come by the end of 2025 or even as soon as this month.
The unnamed senior White House staffer said Trump sees how cannabis reform could benefit Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections—even if others like Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy, remain opposed to loosening marijuana laws. Notably, the source said Miller would be tasked with overseeing any cannabis policy change, even if he wouldn’t “be super thrilled” with it.
“For a lot of the base, it’s an issue like gay marriage that people have gotten comfortable with,” the official said. “It’s good politics.”
But even Miller—who served in the office of former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a staunch prohibitionist who rescinded Obama era guidance on cannabis when he became attorney general during Trump’s first term—still “recognizes the politics” favor marijuana reform, the official said.
“Stephen looks at polling, and he’s got a pretty good pulse on where the American people are,” an unnamed GOP lobbyist who works on marijuana issues told The Free Press.
Another unnamed source that works in the cannabis industry said the “president had been educated on the issue, and he started to come along.”
“It was primarily because there were seniors in his orbit that he was seeing on the golf course who were telling him, ‘This stuff is actually helping me, I can grip my club better, walk 18 holes, and I’m sleeping better and don’t have anxiety,’” they said.
As far as the timeline for a possible rescheduling decision is concerned, there’s still ambiguity. Trump said in late August that he’d be making a determination within weeks, though nothing has happened yet, more than two months later. “People familiar with the matter,” according to The Free Press, said action could come as early as this month, and likely by end of the year.
The unnamed White House source said that “all policy and legal requirements and implications are being considered.” The press office, meanwhile, declined to comment, simply pointing to the president’s August comments.
Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz told The Free Press that moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) “keeps cannabis as a controlled substance but allows for more testing for medicinal purposes.”
Rescheduling is a “politically savvy move, said Bruesewitz, whose political consulting firm X Strategies received a $300,000 payment for “media” services from a marijuana industry political committee called the American Rights and Reform PAC.
But while he’s repeatedly posted about the merits of rescheduling on social media, Bruesewitz added that, “Whatever he decides on this, I will back him 100 percent,” and “it’s totally up to the president.”
“Many veterans I’ve spoken with also value cannabis for its medical benefits,” he said, adding that he’s considers it “surprising” that marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug in the same category as substances such as fentanyl.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) said that “anybody in the administration encouraging the president to do this is making a huge mistake,” referring to rescheduling. “We will end up looking like a loser country.”
Former senior Trump advisor Jason Miller, meanwhile, said marijuana “smells gross.” And GOP political operative Garrett Ventry said cannabis use “makes people lazy.”
John Catsimatidis, a Republican billionaire close with the president, said that the “expansion of drugs is not a good move.”
Finally, a GOP source close with the White House said, “We didn’t vote for legalizing drugs. We voted to put drug dealers in prison.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for White House drug czar recently dodged a series of written questions from senators about her position on marijuana rescheduling, medical cannabis legalization and racial disparities in drug enforcement.
Ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee vote earlier this momth to advance the nomination of Sara Carter Bailey as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the nominee submitted responses to a variety of questions from members, including multiple that dealt with cannabis.
Trump’s approval rating on marijuana policy remains largely underwater among cannabis consumers, according to the latest quarterly NuggMD-Marijuana Moment tracking poll. And while many stakeholders were encouraged to see the president share a video touting the health benefits of CBD, a majority of consumers don’t see it as an indication the administration will be moving forward with cannabis rescheduling.
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Meanwhile, several GOP senators recently told Marijuana Moment that, if Trump ultimately moves forward with marijuana rescheduling, it would be a “game changer” for future federal cannabis reform.
One of Trump’s longtime advisors, Roger Stone, separately said that his administration has an opportunity to move forward with marijuana rescheduling—or, even broader legalization—in a way that Democrats who regularly tout the reform failed to achieve when they controlled the White House and Congress.
The Republican Senate sponsor of a bipartisan cannabis banking bill said recently that Trump rescheduling marijuana would be an “important domino” to advance his legislation.
Whether Trump ultimately decides to move forward with rescheduling remains to be seen. Despite his endorsement of the policy change on the campaign trail ahead of his election for a second term, he declined to restate that support when asked about it during a briefing late last month—even though he did say a decision would come within weeks.
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