MW Exclusive: Cannabis groups combine to push for federal reforms under Trump

By Steve Gelsi

U.S. Cannabis Roundtable is forming with backing from Cresco Labs, Trulieve, Green Thumb Industries, Verano and Curaleaf.

America's largest legal cannabis companies are backing the formation of the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, a new advocacy group taking aim at the logjam around marijuana reform on the federal level, as Donald Trump prepares to take office in coming days, MarketWatch has learned.

The U.S. Cannabis Roundtable will soon announce its launch by combining two of the largest cannabis lobbying groups inside the Beltway: The U.S. Cannabis Council and the National Cannabis Roundtable.

The resulting group will wield resources of the two organizations with a member base that employs 450,000 people and 13,000 medical and adult-use dispensaries in 38 U.S. states.

"The combined group will be the unified authority advocating on behalf of the legal cannabis industry and a resource on all things cannabis for members of the Trump Administration and Congress," said Charlie Bechtell, chief executive of Chicago-based Cresco Labs (CA:CL) (CRLBF), in a prepared statement.

Bechtell is lined up to be chairman the U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, with backing from the "big five" legal U.S. cannabis multi-state operators including Cresco Labs, Verano Holdings Corp. (VRNOF), Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CURLF), Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (TCNNF) and Green Thumb Industries Inc. (GTBIF).

Bechtell told MarketWatch the new group is forming after a roughly 18-month effort as cannabis advocates worked to end roughly 90 years of cannabis prohibition.

"The wheels of change do spin slowly at the federal level," Bechtell said. "We may have gotten used to quicker progress on the state level. We've had a lot of educating to do."

The new group is optimistic that it may appeal to Trump's approach to regulation, he said.

Bechtell plans to attend Trump's inauguration next week to represent the cannabis sector.

The merged lobbying group will seek to reignite efforts to reclassify cannabis to the less dangerous level of Schedule III from its current status as Schedule I, which is the same bucket as heroin and more dangers than Schedule II fentanyl.

Cannabis advocates last week won a request to table proceedings on cannabis re-scheduling by the Drug Enforcement Administration after accusing the DEA from dragging its feet on the effort. Efforts may resume in a few months under the Trump administration.

Also read: Cannabis companies say DEA has closed mind against a less-dangerous pot ranking

Another stalled effort has been passage in Congress of the so-called SAFER Banking measure to open up the financial system on a federal level to state-legal cannabis companies. It's been OK'd seven times in the past decade in the U.S. House of Representatives but has never reached a full vote in the U.S. Senate.

While Republicans will control the U.S. House, the Senate and the White House, many GOP officials have been opposed to cannabis reforms historically.

But younger Republicans support cannabis legalization, and Trump favored a move to allow adult-use cannabis in Florida. He has also supported re-scheduling cannabis, Bechtell said..

Billionaire Tesla Inc. $(TSLA)$ founder Elon Musk, as well as radio personality Joe Rogan and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - all of whom have the incoming president's ear - are all pro-cannabis, Bechtell said.

To be sure, the group will have opposition from other organization such as Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which has said it plans to take legal action against cannabis re-scheduling.

The stalled reform effort in Washington has taken the spark out of cannabis stocks, which fell sharply in 2024.

The AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF MSOS has fallen 10% so far in 2025, while the Nasdaq COMP is up 1%. The ETF has dropped 57% over the last 12 months.

Also read: Cannabis sector limps into 2025 because 'the gold rush is over'

-Steve Gelsi

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January 16, 2025 06:09 ET (11:09 GMT)

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