U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Shreveport pushed back hard against President Donald Trump’s plan to change federal cannabis policy, according to National Public Radio and other national outlets. Despite Johnson’s pleas, however, Trump issued an executive order moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, which he says is an effort to expand research into potential benefits, not a move toward full legalization.  “How a weed CEO ran an aggressive influence campaign to convince Trump to reschedule marijuana, which culminated in a dramatic Oval Office meeting with a Florida sheriff, Dr. Mehmet Oz, also known as Dr. Oz, and many others—and Mike Johnson on the phone,” Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal posted about the story that ran a few days ago. Johnson, representing the views of many on the religious right, warned against the decision and called marijuana a “gateway drug.” At one point, Trump put Johnson on the phone with Gordon Smith, a Florida sheriff who was present in the room, based on Dawsey’s reporting. Oz, reported Smith and others, called for rescheduling cannabis as Schedule II. Other senior aides argued rescheduling the drug would be dangerous.  By the time he was done listening to the debate, Trump was ready to disclose his decision immediately on social media. Lawyers and staff talked him down from posting. Trump then instructed the sheriff and staffers to move to another room and start drafting an executive order, which he signed on Dec. 18. As of this morning, conservative senators in Idaho and other states are banding together to ask the president to reverse course. —Old Governor’s Mansion exhibit: Secretary of State Nancy Landry announced this week that the Old Governor’s Mansion will open “Three Decades of Change,” a new historical exhibition that examines the tenures of the nine governors who called the old Mansion home and their impact on Louisiana’s development as a modern state. The exhibition debut is free and will happen Sunday, Jan. 4, from 12 to 4 p.m. as part of the Free First Sunday initiative.  The exhibit aims to highlight significant moments in Louisiana’s emergence on the national stage. In just 30 years, the state underwent a massive transformation under the leadership of nine governors. These men, regardless of the length of their terms of office, guided Louisiana through some of the most challenging days in the state’s and the nation’s history. —Hunting seasons discussion: The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will meet Tuesday, Jan. 6, to discuss, among other items, the 2026-2028 hunting seasons.  —They said it: “I’ve got to plant seeds for trees I’ll never sit under.” –Baton Rouge Mayor Sid Edwards, on proposing policy that impacts the distant future rather than the immediate present, in State Affairs ...read more read less