{"id":4175,"date":"2025-08-22T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/22\/how-will-missouris-cannabis-market-change-if-the-feds-reschedule-marijuana-2\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T09:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:00:34","slug":"how-will-missouris-cannabis-market-change-if-the-feds-reschedule-marijuana-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/22\/how-will-missouris-cannabis-market-change-if-the-feds-reschedule-marijuana-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How will Missouri\u2019s cannabis market change if the feds reschedule marijuana?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week, President Donald Trump told reporters he plans to revisit a proposal to reschedule marijuana that started under President Joe Biden, which has been on pause since January (Rebecca Rivas\/Missouri Independent).<\/p>\n

Missouri has won praise<\/a> for having one of the nation\u2019s most robust cannabis markets.\u00a0<\/span>But buzz about the president\u2019s interest in relaxing federal marijuana restrictions is raising questions about the potential impact on that economic success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year in Missouri, a pound of wholesale marijuana sold for about $2,000 on average, according to the nation\u2019s leading wholesale cannabis platform LeafLink. That put Missouri in the company\u2019s top five highest prices.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s still profitable to sell a marijuana facility license in Missouri, said Ben Burstein, corporate development manager at LeafLink \u2014\u00a0 a dynamic that is not true in many other states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have tons of licensed operators that put millions of dollars into their businesses over time,\u201d Burstein said of the experience in many other states. \u201cAnd not only are they not making money, they have to pay to get rid of those licenses and all the closing costs associated with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/i> This guide used data from orders placed on the LeafLink marketplace between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Experts agree the success is due, at least in part, to Missouri\u2019s limited number of facility licenses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Capping the number of businesses that can partake in the cannabis industry has drawn pointed criticism that it has encouraged a monopoly in the program and created the appearance of corruption. But the cap also keeps supply and demand in balance, experts say, protecting Missouri from the pitfalls others states are facing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oregon-based cannabis economist Beau Whitney says in other states there\u2019s a \u201cmassive amount of oversupply\u201d that has made it difficult for marijuana businesses to stay afloat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a> Whitney Economics released last year found that only 27% of cannabis companies nationwide on average were profitable in the cannabis space. And 73% were either breaking even or losing money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week, <\/span>President Donald Trump told reporters<\/span><\/a> he plans to revisit a proposal to reschedule marijuana that started under President Joe Biden, which has been on pause since January. The plan would place marijuana in the same federal classification as codeine, instead of where it currently is alongside heroin.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at it,\u201d said Trump last Monday, noting that he expects to determine whether cannabis will be reclassified in the next few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

So would a push by the president to restart the plan disrupt Missouri\u2019s ecosystem?<\/span><\/p>\n

The short answer is yes, Whitney said, but it wouldn\u2019t be immediate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The process to reschedule a drug requires going through multiple drafts of administrative rules, hearings and public comment periods that could take years to accomplish.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long process,\u201d Whitney said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a snap of the finger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s currently a federal crime for marijuana to cross over state lines. Would rescheduling open up the borders and allow states to sell to each other, also allowing the oversupply to bottom out Missouri\u2019s prices?<\/span><\/p>\n

That depends on the details in the federal rules, said St. Louis attorney Eric Walter, who represents a number of cannabis operators and the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

But a provision in the Missouri constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2022 legalizing marijuana was designed to control that scenario, Walter said. It states that if federal law is amended to allow interstate commerce, then only licensed cultivators could import marijuana from other states. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey couldn\u2019t just sell directly to dispensaries or sell directly to consumers,\u201d Walter said. \u201cIt would still need to run through the regulated licensees, and the product would be subject to all of our specific requirements, including our testing panel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While it could upset Missouri\u2019s economic impact, Walter said the financial impact nationwide would be \u201cmassive.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rescheduling marijuana means that the substance would be moved from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substance Act to Schedule 3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMarijuana has been on 1 since the [act] was created in the early 70s,\u201d he said, \u201cand it never belonged.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Medical benefits and susceptibility of addiction are taken into account when scheduling, Walter said, and Schedule 1 is for the most addictive substances with no known medical benefits, such as heroin. Cocaine is Schedule 2 because it has some medical benefits, such as numbing properties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would further erode some of the anti-marijuana bias and perceptions, and open the door to banks and financial institutions interacting with industry operators more sensibly,\u201d Walter said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rescheduling would also provide tax relief to businesses, he said.<\/p>\n

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