President Donald Trump’s administration is currently weighing whether to move forward with the marijuana rescheduling process initiated under the Biden administration, with the president recently telling donors that “we need to look at” the issue, according to reports.
“That’s something we’re going to look at,” Trump said at a $1 million-a-plate fundraising dinner at his Bedminster, New Jersey club recently, according to CNN and The Wall Street Journal.
The comments come as cannabis industry observers have waited for signals on whether the administration will follow through on the president’s campaign pledge to reschedule marijuana.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers was in attendance at the dinner where Trump briefly discussed marijuana this month, the Journal reported.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told CNN that “all policy and legal requirements and implications are being considered” when it comes to marijuana.
“The only interest guiding the president’s policy decision is what is in the best interest of the American people,” she said.
According to CNN, there is dissent within the administration when it comes to cannabis, with some advisors urging the president to take action on the popular campaign pledge and others “cautioning that the moral and legal ramifications of loosening marijuana restrictions could outweigh the potential gains and even backfire politically.”
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has requested key agencies to submit their positions on cannabis rescheduling, with CNN citing two sources who said those responses “now sit in a report on her desk” after having been compiled by the Domestic Policy Council.
While Trump endorsed rescheduling cannabis—as well as industry banking access and a state-level legalization initiative in Florida—on the campaign trail last year, he’s been silent about the issue since taking office for his second term.
Newly published Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that a marijuana industry-funded political committee donated $1 million to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in the first half of this year. Trulieve, whose CEO Rivers attended the recent dinner where Trump discussed cannabis, contributed $250,000 to the industry PAC.
The PAC also reported an expenditure $120,500 to a strategic consulting and research firm associated with Trump, Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, LLC, for “legal” services. The same firm conducted a survey of registered voters that showed a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms that is promoted on the PAC’s website.
Trump’s former acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also recently predicted that the administration will soon “dig in” to the state-federal marijuana policy conflict, emphasizing the need to “eliminate confusion, not create it” amid the rescheduling push.
Meanwhile, Terrence Cole, who was sworn in last month as the new administrator of the DEA, declined to include rescheduling on a list of “strategic priorities” the agency that instead focused on anti-trafficking enforcement, Mexican cartels, the fentanyl supply chain, drug-fueled violence, cryptocurrency, the dark web and a host of other matters.
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[PRESS RELEASE] – BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 18, 2025 – Canopy USA LLC, a brand-driven organization strategically positioned across the fastest-growing states and highest potential segments of the U.S. cannabis market, announced the appointment of a new executive team responsible for driving the company’s next phase of expansion.
Drawing on extensive industry experience, these leaders will steer Canopy USA forward through a shared vision to elevate the company’s brand portfolio, enhance day-to-day operations and execution, and advance growth initiatives across multiple state markets.
Casey Rash, chief financial officer, will oversee centralized functions including finance, human resources and IT. Rash brings deep expertise in regulated industries and a strategic approach to driving organizational scale and efficiency.
Rebecca Kirk, chief operating officer, will lead the company’s operations, innovation and legal teams. Known for building scalable systems and launching category-leading products, Kirk will play a critical role in driving Canopy USA’s performance across its value chain.
Kelly Flores, chief business development officer, will be responsible for marketing, market expansion and product strategy. With a proven track record in cannabis commercialization, Flores will guide brand development and strategic growth initiatives in both existing and emerging state markets.
“These leadership appointments mark the start of a plan to capture growth in the U.S. cannabis market,” Canopy USA President Brooks Jorgensen said. “Within the best of each Acreage, Jetty and Wana, we’ve been aligning systems, teams and processes across markets to create a scalable, efficient organization. With our leadership team now in place, we’re moving forward with purpose.”
Canopy USA’s platform is built to deliver consistent quality, innovative products and trusted brands to consumers and retail partners nationwide. By combining deep market expertise with a focus on execution, the company aims to set the standard for growth and leadership in the evolving U.S. cannabis industry.
Adult-use cannabis sales in Washington state have been falling for five years, according to Department of Revenue data reported by KHQ.
First-quarter sales in 2025 reached $277 million, which is nearly $100 million less than the market’s peak during the pandemic in 2021. Based on current trends, annual cannabis sales this year could be the state’s lowest since 2019 after five straight years of declining sales in Washington.
Regulators attribute the decline to oversupply issues, which drive prices down and make it more difficult for licensees to turn a profit.
Officials with the state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) recently announced the largest expansion of cannabis dispensaries since the market’s launch over a decade ago, offering up to 52 new retail social equity licenses.
Meanwhile, a report from the state’s legislative auditor found that “Washington businesses produced two to three times more cannabis than retailers sold in 2023,” and that “inaccurate and incomplete data” had hampered regulators’ capacity for “data-driven regulation.”
The auditcalls on the LCB to submit a plan to lawmakers by December 31, 2025, containing strategies to improve data accuracy.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is Ganjapreneur’s Chief Editor. He has been writing about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has been contributing to Ganjapreneur since our official launch in…
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During an interview with Delaware Public Media, Gov. Matt Meyer (D) also discussed a conversation he had with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) about regulating the marijuana industry, drawing a contrast between their respective responsibilities given the fact that Colorado is much larger with more local jurisdictions to interact with compared to Delaware, which has just three counties.
Delaware’s adult-use cannabis market launched at the beginning of this month, but legislation awaiting Meyer’s action would make a key change related to local control of where marijuana businesses could operate. And the governor has indicated he’s still wavering on the proposal.
Asked about the fate of the bill from Sen. Trey Paradee (D), who also championed the state’s legalization legislation, Meyer said: “Stay tuned. You’ll hear soon. We will be taking action very shortly.”
“Listen, I have local government background. I don’t think it’s appropriate that, when state government likes local government regulation, they say, ‘Yeah, we support it,’” the governor said. “And when they don’t like local government regulation, they overrule it.”
“At the same time, it’s important for communities that this moves forward,” he said, referring to the implementation of the adult-use cannabis market.
The response didn’t clearly indicate where Meyer currently stands on the proposal, but he also said it’s “always on the table” that he could allow the bill to take effect without his signature.
“I was talking to Governor Polis of Colorado about marijuana regulation just the other day and he’s just like, ‘Just let the counties do it.’ He has too many counties to know,” Meyer said. “I was asking, ‘What’s the regulation of counties?’ He’s like, ‘I have no idea.’ He’s like, ‘Some do it, some don’t. I don’t really know.’”
The Delaware Public Media host said: “But he’s not going to run into the problem, though, where if there’s enough zoning laws, there’s literally no place to put the facilities. That’s probably not a problem for him.”
The governor agreed, saying “Colorado is much larger” with a “three-mile [zoning] limitation from schools,” which would be less feasible in the smaller state of Delaware. “We’re going to see what we can do,” he said.
On the topic of broader regulatory responsibilities, Meyer said the state is “very lucky” that the Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OCM) is headed up by someone who comes from outside of Delaware who is “one of the leading thinkers on this issue.”
“He looks at it from a business and community aspect, whereas traditionally Delaware has looked at it as a public safety issue,” the governor said. For his part, Meyer said revenue generated from cannabis taxes is “clearly third” on his list of reasons to support legalization.
The first priority, he said, is ensuring that “communities are sustainable and they’re safe and they’re protected.”
“I think there’s a lot of concern in communities. I have small children. What are we doing? Do we want this thing all around our kids? I don’t know how many of you have been to New York or San Francisco lately, but you go outside and there’s that stench,” he said. “That’s not Delaware. We’re doing everything to make sure that we continue to retain the same communities we have.”
“We also have a historic obligation. Marijuana and marijuana enforcement in this state has not been equitable. There are people in our communities today, almost all Black and brown people, who have been imprisoned for years and years for using and selling marijuana, where people of different colors of skin have not had that same experience. We need to make sure we use whatever revenue we have to address that historic wrong going forward.”
“We’re continuing to watch and monitor to make sure communities are being protected as this economic opportunity grows and make sure people are safe,” Meyer said.
While marijuana revenue might be “third” on his list, the governor recently touted the state’s first “successful” weekend of adult-use cannabis sales, with total purchases for medical and recreational marijuana totaling nearly $1 million—and compliance checks demonstrating that the regulated market is operating as intended under the law.
Delaware’s first adult-use marijuana shops officially opened for business on August 1, with a handful of existing medical cannabis operators able to service consumers 21 and older.
Ahead of the sales roll-out, the governor last month toured one of the state’s cannabis cultivation facilities, praising the quality of marijuana that’s being produced, which he said will be the “French wine of weed.”
Dozens of other would-be retailers that have either already received licenses or are still awaiting issuance will need to wait for further regulatory approvals until they can open their doors—a situation that’s frustrated some advocates.
The idea is to identify any hiccups that lawmakers might need to address when they return for next year’s legislative session.
OCM initially projected that recreational sales would start by March, but complications related to securing an FBI fingerprint background check service code delayed the implementation. Lawmakers passed a bill in April to resolve the issue, and the FBI subsequently issued the code that the stat’s marijuana law requires.
A total of 125 licenses will ultimately be issued, including 30 retailers, 60 cultivators, 30 manufacturers and five testing labs. Last year, regulators also detailed what portion of each category is reserved for social equity applicants, microbusinesses and general open licenses.
The then-governor last year signed several additional marijuana bills into law, including measures that would allow existing medical cannabis businesses in the state to begin recreational sales on an expedited basis, transfer regulatory authority for the medical program and make technical changes to marijuana statutes.
The dual licensing legislation is meant to allow recreational sales to begin months earlier than planned, though critics say the legislation would give an unfair market advantage to larger, more dominant businesses already operating in multiple states.
The policy change removes limitations for patient eligibility based on a specific set of qualifying health conditions. Instead, doctors will be able to issue cannabis recommendations for any condition they see fit.
The law also allows patients over the age of 65 to self-certify for medical cannabis access without the need for a doctor’s recommendation.
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