President Donald Trump has granted clemency to two people who are serving time for federal marijuana convictions as his administration advances the process of rescheduling cannabis.

The president on Thursday commuted the sentences of Jerry Haymon IV and Kevin Harden, effectively ending their sentences and putting them on the path to being free.

Haymon was given a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence in federal prison for his participation in a marijuana distribution conspiracy, and has been living in home confinement for the past year.

Until now, he has had about a year left to go and has experienced difficulty getting approval for jobs. For example, the private company overseeing his home confinement blocked his ability to handle social media for a cannabis company and to do research at a policy organization that touched on the issue of marijuana even though neither job would have involved him touching the plant.

“Today is an amazing day that I will never forget,” Haymon told Marijuana Moment on Friday after receiving the news of his commutation, saying it feels like he has been “reborn again.”

“I got my life back,” he said. “There are no words that can fully express what this act of clemency means to me and the people I love. I am deeply grateful to everyone who advocated for me, supported me and helped give me this second chance.”

Thirty-six members of Congress sent a letter to then-President Joe Biden in support of Haymon’s request for clemency.

“Jerry was a two-way football star in high school who went on to play defensive back in college, where he was majoring in economics (and even made the Dean’s List one semester),” the lawmakers wrote. “Prior to his arrest in 2017, Jerry was looking to try out for professional football. At sentencing, the trial judge regretfully noted that his hands were tied by federal mandatory minimum prison terms for marijuana.”

While Biden issued mass pardons to people who committed federal marijuana possession offenses, he did not heed calls to free people serving time in federal prison for involvement in selling cannabis.

Harden, the other person that Trump granted clemency to on Thursday, has been serving a 30-year sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

His co-defendant in the cannabis case, James Romans, was granted clemency by Trump in 2021 on the final day of his first term in office.

While incarcerated, Harden has experienced several severe medical issues, including multiple open-heart surgeries, a seizure disorder and blood-clotting.

The clemency applications from Haymon and Harden were both accompanied by a letter that boxer Mike Tyson wrote to Trump in which he praised the president for making moves to federally reschedule marijuana.

“There are Americans still sitting in federal prison for the very conduct your order addresses, waiting to see if your historic words will extend to them,” he wrote. “With two-thirds of Americans in support of marijuana legalization, not more punishment, the politics align with common sense policy. Yet individuals remain behind bars under outdated federal laws for conduct that today would not result in prison in much of the country.”

“Granting clemency to non-violent marijuana offenders would reunite families, restore lost opportunity, and write the final chapter of the federal war on marijuana—a chapter that only you have the power to close,” Tyson said. “It would be a legacy moment: bold, decisive, and right. I respectfully urge you to act.”

The two cannabis commutations are part of a broader package of clemency grants the the president issued this week.

Trump’s move to free a handful of cannabis prisoners comes as his administration of moving forward with the process of federally rescheduling marijuana.

Attorney General Todd Blanche in April issued an order that immediately reclassified state-licensed medical cannabis, as well as marijuana products approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III.

Under a separate order he signed, the DEA hearing was held to consider more comprehensively moving marijuana to Schedule III. An agency judge is currently considering a recommendation on the issue, and then the DEA administrator will issue a final determination.

During the hearing, DEA officials charged with defending the cannabis rescheduling proposal highlighted testimony on marijuana’s medical benefits and its relative safety compared to other substances such as alcohol and opioids.

That included appearances from a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist and a medical doctor from New Hampshire who detailed how medical marijuana provides relief to pain patients and can serve as an alternative to opioids.

Weldon Angelos, founder of the criminal justice non-profit The Weldon Project who received a cannabis-related presidential pardon during Trump’s first term, said that “today is an extraordinary day for two deserving men and their families.”

“These grants of clemency are about mercy, redemption, second chances and recognizing the humanity in people who have already paid an enormous price for their mistakes,” he said.

“President Trump has granted clemency to two individuals serving prison time for cannabis, Jerry Haymon and Kevin Harden. Jerry, a former college football standout, has worked incredibly hard to demonstrate that a person’s worst moment should never define the rest of their life. Kevin has endured serious and debilitating medical conditions that have made his continued incarceration both extraordinarily difficult and increasingly dangerous.”

“I am deeply grateful to President Trump and Alice Johnson for continuing to give deserving people a pathway home,” Angelos said, referring to Trump’s White House pardon czar who herself received clemency from Trump in 2018.

“For Jerry and Kevin, and especially for the families who have waited and prayed for this day, this is life-changing,” he said. “We are also encouraged by the administration’s continued commitment to clemency and expect to see more deserving individuals receive relief in the future. This is exactly why we do this work.”

Haymon said he is “eternally grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Alice Johnson for granting me a full commutation for my marijuana offense and giving me the opportunity to move forward with my life without this conviction hanging over me.”

“I also want to thank Weldon Angelos and the entire Mission Green and Weldon Project team for believing in me, fighting for me, and never giving up on my case,” he said. “They stood beside me and my family throughout this process and worked tirelessly to make this moment possible.”

Erik Luna, who represented Haymon on behalf of the Mission Green Initiative and serves as director of research and legal policy at the Weldon Project, said his client “received a ten-year federal sentence for conduct that is now legal in both states where the offense occurred.”

“Jerry served years in prison for a first-time, nonviolent marijuana offense, while today multi-billion-dollar cannabis companies operate openly under state law—often with armed security—engaging in the very conduct for which Jerry was convicted and sentenced,” he said. “That is the definition of injustice.”

Earlier this year, Trump pardoned a former NFL star who was convicted of trafficking 175 pounds of marijuana.

At the start of his second term, the president fulfilled a campaign promise by commuting the life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, a man who was convicted of running a dark web illicit drug market.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving to develop new marijuana-related standards for pilots and air traffic controllers in light of the “operational risk” created by the Trump administration’s move to reschedule cannabis—which has furthered the “normalization” of the drug.

FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine is partnering with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to convene a series of meetings focused on the impact of marijuana consumption on air travel professionals, an effort aimed at informing approaches the agency might take to “evaluate, update, or refine their current policies for cannabis use, particularly for determining when individuals are fit for duty.”

Topics to be discussed during the four planned meetings set to take place this year and next year—which will not be open to the public—include drug testing, cognitive functioning monitoring and the length of impairment following cannabis use. Invited participants will include experts on impairment evidence, pharmacokinetics and detectability, operational risk translation and policy framing.

There is an “urgent need to establish clear, scientifically defensible, and operationally actionable fitness-for-duty standards for pilots and air traffic control specialists (ATCS) in the context of evolving federal cannabis policy,” NASEM said in a overview of the effort, which FAA is supporting with just over $200,000.

Under an order issued by U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license immediately moved from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, as did any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An administrative hearing is considering broader marijuana rescheduling, including of recreational products.

While Department of Transportation (DOT) drug testing and FAA medical certification standards remain unchanged for now, the notice of the upcoming meetings says that the “dual-status regulatory environment” under the scheduling reform has created a policy “misalignment” that poses “significant operational risk”—including by “increasing the likelihood and normalization of cannabis use,”  “complicating disclosure and compliance” and “leaving the FAA without validated criteria to determine when individuals are no longer impaired.”

“The central policy question is: Following cannabis use, what elapsed time ensures both (1) absence of operational impairment and (2) compliance with DOT drug testing requirements?” NASEM’s Transportation Research Board said in the posting which was noted earlier by Cannabis Wire.

“Due to the urgency of near-term policy decisions and the inability to conduct new primary research in the required timeframe, the FAA requires structured, policy-relevant interpretation of existing scientific evidence,” the notice said, specifying that the meetings will take place over a span of about 12 months, which will enable FAA to develop and implement new cannabis policies within 12–18 months.

NASEM previously did work on state marijuana legalization law’ impact on airports on behalf of FAA, publishing a briefing on the issue and holding an event.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently clarified that its “policy on medical marijuana has not changed”—despite numerous news organizations running exaggerated headlines about a supposed change in the federal government’s policy on bringing marijuana into airports and on airplanes.

DOT, which houses FAA, clarified in May that truck drivers, airline pilots and other federally regulated safety-sensitive workers still cannot use medical marijuana without being punished despite the federal rescheduling move.

Last month, a coalition of transportation and safety organizations sent a letter to federal officials saying they have “serious safety concerns” surrounding the Trump administration’s move to federally reschedule marijuana— asking them to take steps to ensure that safety-sensitive workers will continue to be tested for cannabis.

Earlier this month, the House Appropriations Committee adopted a provision directing federal officials to continue requiring government employees and safety-sensitive workers such as truck drivers and airline pilots to be drug tested for marijuana, “regardless of any future changes to the legal status or scheduling.”

The followed a press conference organized by prohibitionist groups and a drug testing industry association where two Republican lawmakers joined their call for a “carve-out” to marijuana rescheduling by affirming that safety-sensitive transportation workers could still be penalized for testing positive for THC.

The lawmakers and prohibitionist activists argued that moving marijuana to Schedule III would mean a 1986 executive order on the federal workforce that President Ronald Reagan signed defining illegal drugs as Schedule I and II drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would be effectively nullified when it comes to cannabis use by truck drivers, airline pilots and other workers regulated by DOT.

Last October, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy suggested President Donald Trump was “getting pressure” to reschedule cannabis—arguing that marijuana is “really addictive” and saying that policy reform around the issue sends a “dangerous” message.

“At a time when culture is pushing and celebrating the use of marijuana, we’re not talking about the risk,” Duffy said.

Image element courtesy of Steve Fitzgerald.

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The first administrative appeal hearing on whether Female Orgasmic Disorder (FOD) should be recognised as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis is taking place in the US state of Oregon this week.

From 3 to 5 February, state officials will hear testimony from clinicians, researchers, and patients regarding the potential role of cannabinoid medicine in treating Female Orgasmic Disorder/Difficulty (FOD).

FOD, a condition associated with persistent difficulty or inability to reach orgasm despite adequate desire and stimulation, is thought to affect an estimated 41% of women, yet has no FDA-approved therapies.

Experts say the women’s health condition has been historically under-researched and under-treated. While multiple pharmaceutical options exist for male sexual function, no approved medications specifically address orgasmic difficulty in women, leaving many women without effective treatment or accessible care.

Presenting the evidence

The three-day hearing is part of a formal administrative appeal requesting reconsideration of an earlier agency decision, bringing the issue back before the Oregon Health Authority for further expert review.

The petition was filed by Oregon resident Rebecca Andersson, who herself benefited from therapeutic cannabis in treating FOD, following a radical hysterectomy, and is represented by Portland attorney Alex Tinker of Tinker Torp LLP.

Twelve expert witnesses — including physicians, sexual health specialists, neuroscientists, and cannabinoid medicine clinicians — will testify, presenting scientific, clinical, and patient-reported evidence of the safety and effectiveness of cannabinoid therapies in improving orgasmic function in women with FOD.

They will present scientific, clinical, and patient-reported evidence of the safety and effectiveness of cannabinoid therapies in improving orgasmic function in women with FOD.

A previous observational study found that cannabis may be beneficial for the treatment of FOD, with the majority of women surveyed saying they found cannabis use before partnered sex increased orgasm frequency (72.8%) improve orgasm satisfaction (67%), or made reaching orgasm easier (71%).

In a follow-up paper published last year, researchers reviewed findings from 16 peer-reviewed studies, including data from over 8,000 women, making a formal recommendation that FOD be recognised as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis on prescription. 

A ‘defining moment’ for women’s medicine?

If approved, Oregon would become the third state in the nation, following Connecticut and Illinois, to explicitly recognise FOD within its medical cannabis program, potentially expanding legal, regulated access to treatment and setting a precedent for evidence-based women’s health policy nationwide.

Gabriella Bova, the petitioner for the state of Illinois, gave testimony on the first day of the Oregon hearing, telling the judge her story of how cannabis helped her with her FOD. She ended with the statement: “We are real patients.”

However, several other states have reached different conclusions, underscoring the urgent need for a clear legal and medical standard—something the Oregon appeal hearing is now positioned to establish.

The final decision is not expected for several months, but advocates say it could mark an important step toward closing longstanding gender gaps in medical research, treatment access, and sexual health equity.

“This is a defining moment for women’s medicine,” said Dr Suzanne Mulvehill, Clinical Sexologist and Executive Director of the Female Orgasm Research Institute and Women’s Cannabis Project. 

“It is the moment when overlooked medicine is finally brought into recognition.”

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