Just when you thought cannabis was boring!
On December 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that set the process in motion to reschedule cannabis on the federal level. Later developments showed the order’s promise to, at least for now, be limited. Nevertheless, for cannabis marketers, the big thought on our minds is, “what does this mean for marketing?”
In all honesty, rescheduling is unlikely to have a direct impact on cannabis marketers in the short term. There are no answers yet to many of these questions. The executive order simply does not, and will not, affect marketing before major questions around services like banking are addressed. Instead, how rescheduling impacts those services will eventually trickle down to marketing.
Still, rescheduling is an important signal that the official attitude toward cannabis in this country is changing, and marketers need to be prepared for what that could mean down the line, if not tomorrow.
Here’s what’s on our minds.
But first: Is cannabis actually getting rescheduled?
Well…kind of.
The December 2025 executive order was widely understood to mandate that all types of cannabis be moved from Schedule I, a designation reserved for highly addictive drugs with no medical use, to Schedule III. This change would reclassify cannabis as a drug with accepted medical use and a moderate to low potential for abuse.
However, things changed when, on April 23, 2026, acting attorney general Todd Blanche issued an order with an “immediate” portion applying only to state-licensed medical cannabis. In other words, medical dispensaries and pharmaceutical products with cannabinoids are currently set to benefit from reclassification, but there will be no effect on recreational (adult-use) products or retailers.
However, Blanche’s order also mandates a “new expedited hearing with set deadlines, to fully reschedule marijuana.” The DEA will begin conducting this hearing on June 29, 2026, and beneficial changes for recreational dispensaries could potentially result.
A major challenge is that, even with this hearing scheduled, rescheduling could take months or years. As this story develops, we’ll continue looking out for any ways in which our answers to the following questions for cannabis marketers could change.
1. Will this mean there's more money to spend on cannabis marketing?
Most likely, yes, even if only from medical dispensaries.
One of the major issues that rescheduling will tackle head-on is Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code. This tax provision prevents businesses that deal in Schedule I substances from claiming business deductions on their taxes.
Where non-cannabis and ancillary cannabis companies can write off standard marketing expenses, plant-touching businesses like dispensaries and brands cannot. Removing the 280E burden should free up more companies to invest in marketing. However, precisely what the IRS will do and how is not fully clear at the moment.
CannaContent’s view: We sure do hope so.
2. Does this mean ads will be allowed on Google?
Not today, but maybe down the line.
Federal changes to cannabis policy will certainly affect the private sector, but it does not mean the private sector is chomping at the bit to accept cannabis ad dollars transparently or compliantly. Remember: just because they can doesn’t mean they will.
We already see this in state-legal markets. For example, billboard owners are fully within their rights to decline cannabis ad dollars, even if the state allows for billboard ads.
We can also look to Canada, where cannabis advertising is just barely allowed on Google. Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018, but it was only in August 2025 that Google began a pilot program to accept cannabis ad dollars. For those keeping score at home, it took nearly seven years for Google to wade into compliant ads.
CannaContent’s view: While we think it’s likely that Google will eventually take cannabis ad dollars, we are far from the day when that will actually happen.
3. Will Meta change its policies?
Likely not, but don’t rule it out just yet.
Meta's content enforcement policies are based on international law, not state-by-state or country-by-country regulations. Cannabis and other drugs are considered just as damaging as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and weapons when it comes to distributing content on Facebook and Instagram. This connects back to Meta’s response to anti-trafficking measures globally; it does not want its platforms to be seen as places to conduct these transactions, even though cannabis is legal in many places.
There was some progress in the paid ads space, as Facebook allowed ads for some industrial hemp products that do not contain THC in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. That gives us a glimpse into what could be ahead if cannabis is rescheduled. It’s equally possible that Meta allows cannabis content (both paid and organic) but regulates it like a pharmaceutical or alcohol. There’s also the matter of which government body would get involved with cannabis marketing enforcement and to what degree.
CannaContent’s view: Meta might relax its policies in a world where cannabis is no longer a Schedule I substance, but the change is likely not as straightforward as many of us would like it to be.
4. Will TikTok change its policies?
Probably not.
As of January 2026, TikTok is roughly 20% owned by Bytedance, a technology company based in Beijing, China. To put it lightly, cannabis is not welcome in China. U.S. investors, though, own a majority of the platform, and some tech and social media commentators have said that these new owners are increasing censorship on the platform.
In any case, like Meta, TikTok is a global company that takes the laws and sensitivities of nearly 200 countries into account. This background highly influences the platform’s moderation policies.
TikTok is also particularly sensitive about the age of the folks who use the platform. Yes, arguments can be made about all the other bad things teens are exposed to on TikTok, but since when has cannabis been subject to balanced or logical enforcement?
CannaContent’s view: We have little hope that TikTok will soften its content policies around cannabis.
5. Will rescheduling break us out of the cannabis-specific software box?
Yes — potentially.
Many e-commerce platforms, website builders, email marketing platforms, and similar tools simply won't participate in the cannabis market due to the (perceived and actual) risk and stigma involved. This may change as federal policy shifts, major issues surrounding banking and payment processors improve, and investors and other decision-makers become less queasy about playing in the same sandbox as cannabis companies.
Highly regulated industries like cannabis are not easy to translate to a lot of standard e-commerce tools. There are many specialty integrations and reporting requirements that cannabis companies must comply with by law. That’s a whole new world for a large SaaS company to contend with, and some may not have the appetite to chase the cannabis industry’s business as a result. The specialty angle will still have its appeal, but many of these software providers will be forced to step up in the areas where they have been lacking.
CannaContent’s view: Yes, there’s a world where the largest software companies begin allowing cannabis content or transactions, but it’s more likely to kick off consolidation as cannabis software companies are bought by mainstream players.
6. Will rescheduling influence state-level marketing rules?
Not directly.
All the current orders do is direct the federal government to move forward with rescheduling. It does not touch state policies in any way, shape, or form. However, eventually, the direct effects of rescheduling may trickle down to how states choose to enforce the rules.
For example, many states have concerns about allowing ads on public property, such as a park, because doing so may jeopardize federal funds used for that property. If rescheduling addresses concerns about federal funding, maybe cannabis companies will be able to take out billboards and sponsorships in these places.
CannaContent’s view: Maybe there’s a time and a place for federal policy changes to inspire what regulatory bodies do on the state level, but a full suite of changes at the stroke of a pen? No. That won’t happen.
7. What could this mean for interstate commerce and how marketers direct messaging across state lines?
Removing cannabis from its Schedule I status is only one step (albeit a big, important one) among a great many steps necessary for true federal cannabis reform. Additional legislation would be necessary to open up interstate commerce, so rescheduling only gives us permission to dream in 2026 and beyond.
Imagine the effects that interstate commerce would have on cannabis marketing! Who we talk to, how we connect with folks, cross-border marketing… All of this shifts radically when we move out of a state-by-state model. We already advise many of our clients to think as if they’re a national brand, and this is part of the reason why.
CannaContent’s view: Let’s get through the rescheduling process first.
8. Can we mail e-commerce orders through USPS after rescheduling?
No.
There’s no single rule change that happens due to an executive order. A lot of things have to happen to unlock the ability to ship cannabis products directly to consumers, banking changes being chief among them.
Again, we look to our neighbors to the north for an example of how it can be done. In nearly all provinces, you can mail cannabis via Canada Post. However, Canada legalized federally, while rescheduling does not legalize cannabis federally in the U.S.
If — and it’s a big if — the USPS or any other entity like FedEx or UPS allow retail cannabis shipments, marketers are in for a radical change. Opening shipments will be game-changing for the consumer experience, transitioning cannabis websites from window shopping to a true order-from-home customer flow. That’s not even a remote possibility right now, though.
CannaContent’s view: No, this won’t happen with rescheduling
The bottom line: Rescheduling doesn’t change much for marketers
What the recent orders do is simply move some types of cannabis from the most restrictive category for substances to a less restrictive one. That in no way creates a legal cannabis utopia in the United States. The issues that marketers contend with every day are still ever-present and will not change overnight. So until the day comes when we have true legal cannabis on the federal level — complete with criminal justice reform — us marketers will continue to soldier on within the parameters we’re used to navigating.
*Original article posted December 18, 2025