News Brief: Trump Considers Major Cannabis Policy Shift
Summary
President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing an executive order to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III and authorize a Medicare pilot program to cover CBD products for seniors. This potential shift has significant implications for research, investment, and the healthcare industry, but faces criticism over limited scientific evidence and safety concerns.
Key Points
- Policy Change: The order would move cannabis to Schedule III (alongside drugs like Tylenol with codeine) and create a Medicare pilot to cover CBD for age-related ailments like chronic pain.
- Market Impact: Rescheduling would ease tax burdens, banking restrictions, and research barriers, potentially attracting institutional investors and doubling/tripling sector valuations.
- Investment Surge: Stocks of major cannabis companies like Tilray and Canopy Growth surged over 40% on Friday following rumors of the changes.
- Scientific & Safety Concerns: Critics, including researchers, warn the proposal outpaces science. FDA has only approved one CBD drug (for epilepsy), and studies link prolonged use to potential liver toxicity and drug interactions.
- Medicare Controversy: The pilot program, championed by Trump ally Howard Kessler, aims to bypass lengthy FDA trials but faces scrutiny over costs, liability, and precedent.
- Industry Transformation: Schedule III classification could lead to consolidation, attract big pharma, and shift distribution from dispensaries to national pharmacy chains, posing risks to smaller businesses.
- Research Shift: Rescheduling would remove major barriers to large-scale clinical trials, which have been stifled under Schedule I classification.
新闻简报：特朗普考虑对大麻政策进行重大调整
摘要
据报道，美国总统特朗普正准备签署一项行政命令，将大麻从管制目录第一类重新分类至第三类，并授权一项医疗保险试点计划，为老年人提供CBD产品报销。这一潜在转变对研究、投资和医疗保健行业具有重大影响，但也因有限的科学证据和安全问题而面临批评。
关键要点
- 政策变化：该命令将把大麻移至第三类管制药品（与含可待因的泰诺等药物同级），并创建一个医疗保险试点项目，为老年人治疗慢性疼痛等年龄相关疾病的CBD产品提供报销。
- 市场影响：重新分类将减轻税收负担、银行业务限制和研究障碍，可能吸引机构投资者，并使行业估值翻倍或增至三倍。
- 投资激增：受政策变动传闻影响，Tilray和Canopy Growth等主要大麻公司股价上周五飙升超过40%。
- 科学与安全担忧：包括研究人员在内的批评者警告，该提案超越了科学依据。FDA目前仅批准了一种CBD药物（用于治疗癫痫），且研究表明长期使用可能导致肝毒性并干扰其他药物。
- 医疗保险争议：由特朗普盟友霍华德·凯斯勒倡导的试点计划旨在绕过FDA漫长的临床试验，但因成本、责任和先例问题受到审查。
- 行业转型：第三类分类可能导致行业整合，吸引大型制药公司，并使分销渠道从州特许药房转向全国性连锁药店，对小型企业构成风险。
- 研究转向：重新分类将消除在第一类管制下进行大规模临床试验的主要障碍，这类研究历来受到限制。
Original Article Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/16/trump-medicare-pot-seniors-marijuana-reclassification.html