Unless your living under a rock then you know President Trump recently announced his administration is considering moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act. While any acknowledgment of cannabis reform is welcome news, a new petition from the Drug Policy Alliance makes a crucial point that we here at Beard Bros Pharms have championed for years: rescheduling simply isn’t enough, descheduling cannabis is the only sensible option.
The petition, which will be delivered to the Trump administration in the coming weeks, calls for complete descheduling of cannabis— which means removing it entirely from the CSA rather than just moving it to a different classification.
This approach aligns perfectly with what we’ve advocated since our founding in 2013: true cannabis reform means complete federal decriminalization, not half-measures that maintain prohibition under a different name.
The Fatal Flaws of Rescheduling
Moving cannabis to Schedule III might sound like progress, but it would create a regulatory nightmare that benefits only large corporations while crushing small businesses and continuing to criminalize consumers. Under Schedule III classification, cannabis would still remain federally illegal for personal use, meaning people could still face arrest, prosecution, and all the life-altering consequences that come with a criminal record.
The regulatory framework for Schedule III substances is designed for traditional pharmaceuticals, not cannabis. This would create an impossible maze of FDA regulations, clinical trial requirements, and compliance costs that only the largest, best-funded corporations could navigate. Small cannabis businesses—the heart and soul of this industry—would be systematically eliminated.
Consider the financial barriers alone. Schedule III substances require extensive FDA oversight, including costly clinical trials that can run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Manufacturing facilities must meet pharmaceutical-grade standards, distribution requires DEA licensing, and marketing is heavily restricted. These requirements might be manageable for a pharmaceutical giant like Pfizer, but they would be death sentences for family-owned cultivation operations and craft cannabis companies.
Descheduling Protects Small Business and Consumers
Complete descheduling of cannabis offers a fundamentally different path—one that prioritizes people over profits and small businesses over corporate monopolies. Removing cannabis entirely from the CSA allows states to retain their authority to regulate it, fostering diverse business models and competitive markets.
This approach has proven successful in states with mature cannabis markets. States with legal recreational cannabis programs have shown that sensible state-level regulation can protect public health while fostering innovation and competition. Small-scale can cultivators thrive alongside larger operations, consumers have access to diverse products at competitive prices, and tax revenue supports community programs.
Descheduling also addresses the human cost of prohibition that rescheduling ignores. With 88% of Americans supporting some form of cannabis legalization, according to polling, continuing to criminalize personal use is fundamentally at odds with public opinion.
Every day that cannabis remains federally illegal, people face arrest, prosecution, and the collateral consequences that can destroy lives and families.
The Economic Reality of True Reform
The economic benefits of descheduling extend far beyond the cannabis industry itself. Banking access would normalize overnight, eliminating the cash-heavy operations that create security risks and tax complications. Interstate commerce would become possible, allowing efficient distribution and specialization that benefits consumers and businesses alike.
Small businesses would gain access to traditional business services—from credit cards to business loans to standard tax deductions. This levels the playing field and allows market forces, rather than regulatory barriers, to determine success and failure.
The Drug Policy Alliance petition call for comprehensive reform alongside descheduling makes perfect sense. Expunging prior cannabis convictions, investing tax revenue in affected communities, and establishing age restrictions and safety standards creates a framework that addresses past harms while protecting public health. These are the policies of a mature, evidence-based approach to cannabis regulation.
Why This Moment Matters
President Trump’s comments about making a decision on cannabis policy “over the next few weeks” creates a unique opportunity to push for real reform rather than settling for inadequate half-measures. The administration faces a clear choice: maintain a failed prohibition under a different name, or embrace the reform that Americans want and deserve.
The coalition pushing for rescheduling includes many well-intentioned advocates and businesses, but their approach ultimately preserves the two-tiered system that has defined American drug policy for decades. Wealthy interests gain regulated access while everyday Americans face criminalization. This isn’t reform—it’s prohibition with better marketing.
Moving Forward Together
The cannabis industry stands at a crossroads. We can accept incremental changes that benefit a few while perpetuating harm for many, or we can demand the comprehensive reform that truly ends prohibition and creates space for all participants in the legal market.
Beard Bros Pharms has always believed that cannabis prohibition is fundamentally unjust and economically destructive. We’ve built our business on the principle that this plant has tremendous therapeutic value and that people should have safe, legal access to high-quality cannabis products. Rescheduling threatens these values by creating a system designed to exclude small businesses and maintain criminalization.
The Drug Policy Alliance petition is more than just opposition to rescheduling—it’s a vision for what real cannabis reform looks like. By supporting descheduling, we’re advocating for a system that prioritizes justice, competition, and consumer choice over corporate profits and continued prohibition.
The next few weeks may determine the future of cannabis policy in America. We encourage everyone who supports true cannabis reform to sign the petition and make their voices heard. The stakes are too high, and the opportunity too important, to settle for anything less than complete federal decriminalization.
