In an attempt to appeal to US President Donald Trump, a US cannabis industry political action committee has released a video alleging Canada is attacking American cannabis businesses.
The video, first reported by Marijuana Moment, is one of two released by the political action committee, or PAC, that encourages the US President to reschedule cannabis from its current Schedule I status under the US Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The previous US President, Joe Biden, had started the process of a review of that Schedule I status in 2023, a process which has faced several delays. A move to Schedule III of the US Controlled Substances Act would allow for greater ease of cannabis research and would mean cannabis could be legally prescribed by a doctor under US law, rather than just state law, as is currently the case in many US states.
“Canada is attacking American cannabis companies, and Democrats aren’t helping,” says a voiceover in the ad that discusses Canada. “Medical cannabis is legal in 40 states, but Washington treats it the same as heroin. That means American companies can’t conduct research and are barred from the stock exchange while Canadian companies cash in.”
Because of its continued federal illegality, most US-based cannabis companies can only trade on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) markets in the US. To get around this issue, these companies often choose to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) or the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). While some have speculated that a move from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 would allow cannabis companies to list on the stock market, which the video also implies, not all agree.
Canada has enjoyed a first-mover advantage regarding cannabis legalization, not only by attracting some US-based companies to list on Canadian exchanges but also by creating a cohesive federal regulatory framework that has allowed for a robust domestic market that also allows for international trade.
US companies, meanwhile, can not even engage in cross-border trade between US states, much less ship products to other legal markets around the world like Australia, Israel, and Germany.
When the possibility of a move from Schedule I to Schedule III was first announced, some in the Canadian cannabis industry expressed concern that Canada would lose their first mover advantage in the cannabis space.
Although the inability for Canadian cannabis companies to ship their products to the US has shielded them from any direct tariff threats from the Trump Administration, the impacts of these trade wars still have indirect impacts on the Canadian cannabis market due to the complexity of international supply chains for things like packaging and labelling, as well as manufacturing equipment.
“This is an America first fight,” the ad adds. “President Trump had the courage to sign Right to Try, healing American patients. Let’s do it again. Reschedule cannabis and put America first.”
Marijuana Moment notes that the statements about Trump’s support for Right to Try that are featured in both ads refer to legislation Trump signed during his first term, allowing terminal patients to access drugs that haven’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but have cleared a Phase 1 trial.
The video cites a document released by the Canadian government in February entitled Notice of Intent to Impose Countermeasures in Response to United States Tariffs on Canadian Goods, which only references hemp products, as these are allowed to be shipped to the US, unlike conventional medical and non-medical cannabis products.
The second video release by the PAC focuses on blaming former US President Joe Biden and the Democrats for cannabis’ illegality. Both videos appear to be framed to appeal to Trump’s worldview and biases.
