Could cannabis rescheduling be timed with a Federal Reserve rate cut? With Jerome Powell expected to announce lower interest rates at next week’s Fed meeting, questions are mounting about whether the Trump administration could use the moment to roll out cannabis reform. Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell open Monday’s Trade To Black with the events we expect this week: Texas faces an SB 6 deadline on Sunday, September 14, and markets watch for possible US Federal Reserve rate cuts after that.
Any Trump rescheduling move is political timing—reform is more impactful if it lands after a rate cut and before jobs data that could credit the White House. Rescheduling has the potential to create close to 500,000 jobs.
We’ll also look at how Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) has shifted its messaging, now leaning into the “Make America Healthy Again” theme instead of outright opposition. Does this signal an acknowledgment that rescheduling is on its way—or is it just politics and little more than fear-based A/B testing?
Beyond policy, we’ll cover Curaleaf Holdings (TSX: CURA, OTCQX: CURLF) being added to the S&P/TSX Index, a milestone that underscores its global credibility and growing recognition among Canadian investors. Inclusion makes Curaleaf the most “investable” US MSO by capital-markets standards. The hosts say indexers are now forced buyers, boosting liquidity and institutional credibility; hedge funds may front-run flows.
And in Texas, the spotlight is on hemp. Michael Bronstein, President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, joins our Insider’s Edge segment to break down the SB6 deadline and what the final days in the state Senate mean for the industry. The legislature is out; Governor Abbott’s “stay tuned” suggests more action—another session, executive steps, or clarified enforcement.
Vape rules already face litigation; nationally, regulators converge on curbing chemically converted hemp-derived THC. Bronstein says Texas must also confront untracked THC flower, testing gaps, and illicit inversion. Federal movement may precede full legalization via standards (e.g., GMP) and farm-bill clarifications; industry should prepare now. In Pennsylvania, Bronstein links the SEPTA funding scramble to broader budget pressure: durable revenue likely comes from skill gaming and/or adult-use cannabis.
Catch all the stories when you tune in.
