💸 The Tape

So let’s say Pam Bondi signs the final rule moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the U.S. Department of Justice. Champagne corks may pop on earnings calls—but administratively speaking, the real story is what happens next. Rescheduling is not a tweet, a press conference, or even just a signature. It’s a federal rulemaking event, and that comes with a very specific choreography.

Here’s the playbook.

Step 1: The Rule Leaves DOJ and Enters the Federal Register Pipeline

Once signed, the rule doesn’t magically become law. It’s transmitted for publication in the Federal Register—the government’s daily journal of regulatory action. That publication date is critical, because it sets the legal clock.

The rule will appear as a “final rule” issued under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), reflecting prior scientific and medical evaluation from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and scheduling authority exercised through the Drug Enforcement Administration, which sits inside DOJ.

Step 2: The Effective Date (Usually 30 Days Out)

Most final rules include an effective date 30 days after publication. That buffer isn’t ceremonial—it’s there so regulated parties, agencies, and courts know precisely when the legal status changes.

On that date, cannabis is no longer Schedule I. Every federal statute and regulation that keys off CSA schedules now reads “Schedule III” for marijuana. That’s the legal inflection point for taxes, research, prescribing frameworks, and enforcement priorities.

Step 3: DEA Updates the Code of Federal Regulations

Behind the scenes, DEA updates the relevant section of the Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR Part 1308)—the official scheduling list. This is administrative housekeeping, but it’s what makes the change operational for registrants, lawyers, compliance departments, and federal prosecutors.

From this moment forward, cannabis is treated in the same schedule category as substances like certain anabolic steroids and ketamine—still controlled, but officially recognized as having accepted medical use.

Step 4: The IRS Light Switch Flips (Hello, 280E)

Now we get to the line item every CFO has circled in red for years.

Internal Revenue Code Section 280E only applies to trafficking in Schedule I or II substances. Once cannabis is Schedule III, that provision no longer applies to state-legal operators.

The Internal Revenue Service doesn’t need to “approve” this. The statute updates automatically based on scheduling status. Expect guidance memos and interpretive bulletins, but the legal basis changes as of the rule’s effective date. That’s not symbolism—that’s margin expansion.

Step 5: Research Rules Loosen—But Don’t Vanish

Schedule III status significantly reduces barriers to research, but it doesn’t turn cannabis into over-the-counter ibuprofen.

DEA-registered researchers still need licenses. Institutional Review Boards still exist. But the process becomes more aligned with conventional pharmaceutical research rather than the bureaucratic obstacle course tied to Schedule I. Universities, hospitals, and biotech firms suddenly face fewer structural deterrents.

Step 6: FDA’s Role Becomes Louder

Rescheduling does not legalize commercial cannabis. It does, however, shift the center of gravity toward the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Under Schedule III, FDA’s drug approval, labeling, and manufacturing standards loom larger—especially for companies pursuing formal cannabinoid-based therapeutics. Expect increased scrutiny of medical claims and more conversations about the line between state markets and federally approved medicines.

Step 7: Litigation Season Begins

No major federal rule survives without lawsuits. States, advocacy groups, or industry factions may challenge the rule in federal court under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Crucially, however, a court challenge does not automatically pause the rule. A stay must be granted. Unless that happens, Schedule III status governs while the legal wrangling proceeds.

Step 8: Agencies Rewrite Their Playbooks

Federal agencies—from banking regulators to the Department of Veterans Affairs—begin revising internal guidance. Not overnight, but steadily. Enforcement priorities, grant policies, and compliance manuals start aligning with the new classification.

This is where rescheduling evolves from legal theory into lived regulatory reality.

The Bottom Line

Bondi’s signature would be the starting gun, not the finish line. Publication, effective dates, tax implications, regulatory rewrites, and inevitable lawsuits follow in orderly succession. The process is procedural, rule-bound, and less dramatic than headlines suggest—but far more consequential.

In Washington terms, this is how revolutions happen: one Federal Register page at a time.

📈 Dog Walkers

Clearmind’s MEAI Lands on Capitol Hill’s Radar

A small but symbolically significant moment just unfolded in the evolving world of psychedelic and neuroplastogen policy. Clearmind Medicine Inc. announced that its proprietary compound MEAI (5-MeO-AI) has been explicitly named in newly introduced bipartisan U.S. legislation aimed at expanding veterans’ access to emerging therapies.

The bill in question, the Expanding Veterans’ Access to Emerging Treatments Act of 2026 (H.R. 7091), would direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish investigational research and extended-access treatment programs for innovative therapies targeting conditions that remain stubbornly under-treated among veterans. The list of covered substances reads like a who’s-who of next-generation mental health tools: psilocybin, MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT, ibogaine, ketamine—and now MEAI.

For Clearmind, this is less about immediate revenue and more about regulatory positioning. Being named in federal legislation, even at the investigational level, signals that MEAI has moved from “interesting lab compound” territory into the realm of serious policy consideration. That’s a meaningful step for a clinical-stage biotech working to differentiate its candidate as a non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogen, a category designed to capture some of psychedelics’ neuroplasticity benefits without the full perceptual experience.

The target indications are equally notable. The bill focuses on conditions prevalent in veteran populations, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)—areas where current pharmacological options often deliver modest efficacy, challenging side-effect profiles, or both. If enacted, H.R. 7091 would not legalize these substances broadly, but it could create structured VA-supported clinical trials and extended-access pathways—essentially a federally sanctioned on-ramp for data generation in a highly defined population.

From a policy lens, this is part of a broader shift: psychedelic-adjacent therapies are increasingly framed not as counterculture relics but as tools for addressing public health gaps, particularly in veteran care. The bipartisan nature of the bill underscores how veteran health can function as a political bridge in areas that might otherwise stall.

For Clearmind, the milestone is clear: MEAI just graduated from pipeline molecule to legislatively acknowledged candidate. Whether that translates into clinical traction will depend on trial outcomes, regulatory navigation, and funding realities. But in biotech signaling terms, having your compound written into federal text is about as loud as it gets.

$ACB ( ▲ 3.57% ) Is Online In The EU

Aurora Cannabis Inc. is sharpening its European playbook, and the latest move isn’t a cultivation license or distribution deal—it’s a digital one. The company has rolled out four new websites aimed at strengthening its presence across key European medical cannabis markets, reinforcing a strategy that blends science-forward branding with local relevance.

At the center is a new European hub, auroramedicine.com, which acts as a gateway to dedicated regional platforms for Germany, the UK, and Poland. The goal is straightforward: make it easier for healthcare professionals, partners, and potential employees to interact with Aurora through market-specific content rather than a one-size-fits-all global site.

This isn’t just a cosmetic refresh. The new platforms lean heavily into Aurora’s preferred narrative—evidence-based medicine, pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing, and regulatory rigor. Updated visuals and video content spotlight both Canadian production and local European operations, a subtle but important signal in markets where supply chain transparency and EU-GMP-style standards carry real weight with prescribers and regulators.

Language localization is another key feature. Each site is available in its market’s native language, which sounds obvious but remains uneven across the cannabis sector. For a company targeting physicians and pharmacy channels rather than lifestyle consumers, speaking the local professional language—literally and figuratively—is table stakes.

Strategically, this move fits Aurora’s broader European thesis: medical cannabis growth on the continent will be driven less by flashy branding and more by clinical credibility, compliance infrastructure, and long-term partnerships. A stronger digital front end supports that by giving Aurora a more formal, pharma-adjacent face in markets that increasingly treat medical cannabis like any other regulated therapeutic category.

In short, Aurora is signaling that Europe isn’t a side project—it’s core growth territory. And while websites don’t move kilos, they do shape perception. In regulated medical markets, perception—especially among doctors and institutions—often precedes prescriptions.

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

How Chinese Drug Cartels Infiltrated U.S. Cannabis | TTB Powered by Flowhub

What we will cover:

✅ Live today on Trade to Black presented by Flowhub, we’re digging into the state of Maine and how illegal Chinese drug cartels are intertwined with state lawmakers. How deep does this really go?

Steve Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of The Maine Wire, joins us once again to talk through his ongoing reporting on large-scale illicit cannabis operations tied to Chinese transnational criminal organizations.

Since the last time he was on the show, Robinson has confirmed how many of these grows are operating, how they’ve been able to secure approvals at the state level, and how lawmakers are allowing this to happen. He’s continuing to pull back the curtain on just how deep the corruption goes — and how this story is now gaining national attention, with his investigative work reaching Washington as conversations around cannabis reform and enforcement are taking shape.