President Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III controlled substance. Such a move could revive efforts to establish an adult-use, or recreational, weed market in Washington, DC, local reporter Martin Austermuhle noted: Interesting: Trump may just have legalized recreational weed sales in D.C. A congressional rider has banned those sales in D.C. since 2015. But it specifically references Schedule I drugs, which weed was. With Trump rescheduling marijuana, the rider may no longer apply. https://t.co/WBoGBqcMzT — Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) December 18, 2025 The rider in question was introduced by US Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, a vehement opponent of recreational cannabis use. The text of the rider forbids the District to “enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance.” It’s been part of federal appropriations for DC since District residents in 2014 voted overwhelmingly for a ballot initiative to legalize recreational weed. Marijuana is currently a so-called Schedule I substance like heroin and LSD, and if the DEA enacts Trump’s order, as seems likely, what would that mean for the ban? For consumers, not a whole lot. DC clamped down on the wild gray market for weed that arose in the wake of this tussling. Medical marijuana dispensaries were already legal when Initiative 71 passed, and Harris’s rider brought DC countless so-called I-71 shops where consumers could buy something else—a T-shirt, a sticker, a motivational speech—and receive a “gift” of cannabis as well. The District eventually closed that loophole by requiring vendors to become medical dispensaries or be shut down while at the same time making it very easy for people to self-certify for a medical card in DC. Lawyers are going to have to get involved here. A report produced by the Congressional Research Service last year says that rescheduling cannabis “would permit the District government, as a matter of local law, to authorize the commercial sale of recreational marijuana, establish market regulations, and levy marijuana taxes, among other policy options.” But! In addition to the ban on Schedule I substances, Harris’s rider specifically references “any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative,” referring to the psychoactive compound in marijuana commonly known as THC. Harris’s office hasn’t yet returned a request for comment, nor has that of DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, whose body would have to legislate a whole new recreational weed market into existence. A spokesperson for DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says her office is evaluating the situation.The post Did Trump Just Revive the Dream of a DC Recreational Weed Market? first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less