Put this in your pipe and smoke it: Donald Trump just legalized marijuana across the US.
As On The Money has been reporting since April, our famously drug-and-drink-averse president has been inching ever nearer to making marijuana considerably less felony in the eyes of the federal authorities.
On Thursday, it finally occurred. He signed an government order to “reclassify” weed to a “Schedule III” drug – throwing it into the same class as codeine-laced Tylenol, testosterone and anabolic steroids. That’s versus its present “Schedule I” classification as a managed substance, which it shares with hard-core staples like heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
Our famously drug-and-drink-averse president just legalized marijuana across the US. Jack Forbes / NY Post Design
This will certainly blow the minds of the nation’s 17 million potheads, many of whom partake in not only a substance but a tradition that bears scant affinity with the MAGA-hat sporting real-estate tycoon who occupies the White House.
Hang on – hasn’t pot already been legal in practically all 50 states? The reply is yes. But the implications are large now that the feds are classifying a so-called “Schedule III” drug – a substance “with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence” as opposed to a “Schedule I” drug which has “a high potential for abuse and serves no legitimate medical purpose”.
Namely, a Schedule III classification means the $60 billion-a-year business of weed in the US can be “banked” and it can grow exponentially as the US banking system will no longer think about it off limits.
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It also means Wall Street will no longer draw back from underwriting the stock of any company that in Pot Inc. parlance “touches the plant.” Marijuana firms will gain access to cheaper, more seamless financing as opposed to the cumbersome alternate options they have relied upon to date, including IPOs and stock listings in locations like Canada.
Yes, there are skeptics about taking pot mainstream. The marijuana of immediately is far more potent than the stuff I grew up on that gave you the munchies and induced sleep. Do we really need thousands and thousands of Americans stoned out of their minds when they drive to work in the morning?
As On The Money has been reporting since April, Pot Inc. has argued to varied members of Team Trump that the advantages of elevated weed legalization outweigh even these legit considerations. Plus, it’s absurd to counsel weed is as harmful as heroin. And authorities regulation, they contend, can keep it out of the arms of minors.
A Schedule III classification means the $60 billion-a-year business of weed in the US can be “banked” and it can grow exponentially as the US banking system will no longer think about it off limits. AFP via Getty Images
As On The Money has been reporting since April, Pot Inc. has argued to varied members of Team Trump that the advantages of elevated weed legalization outweigh even these legit considerations. S.Price – stock.adobe.com
Longtime hedge fund trader Marc Cohodes is both an investor in marijuana firms and a medical pot consumer after shoulder surgical procedure. He has been at the tip of the spear in getting the White House to transfer off the lumping pot with smack. Cohodes has argued that making weed an accepted business here in the US is much better than the established order.
It means marijuana can be regulated more safely and deprive the drug cartels of income. Tax revenues would move into federal coffers as the industry expands. It will serve the medical group, serving to wean people off harmful and addictive opioids.
And Trump will benefit from the politics of Pot Inc. – much like he did with the crypto buyers he courted efficiently during the 2024 election. Those who indulge in marijuana – from gummies and pain-relieving ointments to the good old style smokable joint – are usually single-issue voters.
“He really needs to be commended for having the courage to do this,” Cohodes tells On The Money.
The majority of Americans see pot as no more harmful than booze. Our president isn’t smoking the stuff, but seems to agree.