Donald Trump Finally Speaks About Cannabis
Donald Trump shared his thoughts on cannabis during a fundraising event at his golf club in New Jersey.
Months after taking the Oval Office for the second time, Donald Trump has tossed the first comments on cannabis. The U.S. president is considering reclassifying cannabis as a less-dangerous ‘Schedule III’ substance, a move that was proposed by the Biden’s administration, but never enacted.
Cannabis is never on the priorities list of freshly-elected U.S. presidents at the start of their terms. Naturally, matters of national security or foreign policy may prompt more urgency. But it looks that now, after Donald Trump spends nine months in the White House, the green medicine is coming back into his sphere of interest.
This far, rescheduling was also ignored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where the new administrator Terrence Cole has focused efforts on drug trafficking and enforcement instead. But things might start to change at some point in the near future.
Will Donald Trump Push for Cannabis Reform?
Donald Trump is reportedly considering to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, by labelling it as a Schedule III substance. The president reportedly told this to guests attending a fundraiser event at his New Jersey golf club earlier this month, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal.
Kim Rivers, CEO of one of the biggest cannabis companies Trulieve, was among the guests at Trump’s fundraiser, and she allegedly encouraged the president to hasten the reform as well as expand the research on medical marijuana, the newspaper said.
Multiple cannabis companies appear as investors in Trump’s political committees, records from the Federal Election Commission have shown. For example, Trulieve alone has donated more than $250,000 to entities such as MAGA Inc. super PAC.
Reclassification Would Change the Legal Landscape
The reclassification move for cannabis has been substantially delayed with the change of political powers in the U.S. The proposal to replace cannabis from the list of Schedule I controlled substances to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, was initially proposed by the Biden administration. The reposition would redefine the cannabis landscape in the U.S., opening up marijuana trade, and ending obstacles such as the inability of pot companies to transport legally-grown buds between states.
While Trump has backed cannabis reforms during his presidential campaign in 2024, he has not said a word about it after reassuming office in January. In comparison to Biden, that is an improvement. Trump’s predecessor was on ‘mute’ mode for cannabis for over two years after taking the helm in Washington.
Cannabis advocates and industry players all around the U.S. look forward to what the final outcome is going to be from this epic journey. The new administration will probably take some more time to think through all of the legal and political consequences that may come with a wider cannabis reform. In the meantime, the federal prohibition of marijuana continues, until the moment rescheduling or complete de-scheduling happens.
More from Soft Secrets:
S
Stephen Andrews
