UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
12/18/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/18/2025 14:21
UFCW Warns Reclassifying Cannabis to a Schedule III Drug Not Enough for Workers
WASHINGTON - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.2 million essential workers across North America, including thousands of workers in the cannabis industry, released a statement in response to the Trump Administration's plan to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug.
UFCW International President Milton Jones said:
"The Administration's plan to reclassify cannabis amounts to a tax giveaway for cannabis business owners without any protections for the workers who power this industry.
"Similar to the Biden Administration's plan, this effort risks creating an industry that reinforces the inequities present throughout our economy. Hundreds of thousands of cannabis workers will still face the same challenges that they do now, including the lack of access to proper job training and health and safety protections.
"Reclassifying cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug ignores the needs of workers and wastes the chance to finally deliver justice for the families impacted by the War on Drugs. Cannabis must be federally decriminalized, with a regulatory framework to ensure that cannabis workers, from seed to sale, have the health, safety, and labor protections they deserve."
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The UFCW International is the largest private sector union in the United States, representing 1.2 million workers and their families in cannabis, grocery, meatpacking, food processing, healthcare, retail and other essential industries in all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The UFCW is committed to organizing and supporting cannabis workers across the industry, from seed to sale. Learn more about the UFCW at ufcw.org.
UFCW - United Food and Commercial Workers International Union published this content on December 18, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 18, 2025 at 20:21 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]