Does Donald Trump Support Cannabis Legalization?

Donald Trump, who is currently the 2024 Presidential nominee for the Republican party, recently made a statement that gives us insight regarding his current stance on marijuana legalization.

That statement was posted on his social media platform and announced his vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in his home state of Florida. The Amendment 3 ballot, if passed, would allow 21-and-over Floridians to possess up to three ounces of cannabis recreationally.

While Trump had previously teased that he would be supportive of Florida’s ballot, this post seemingly firmed up his position on the issue.

“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states’ rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” Trump wrote in his post.

This statement also goes along with his recent suggestions for decriminalizing marijuana. In addition, Trump said he supported federal legislation that would remove federal restrictions on banking services for state-legal marijuana businesses. This would help with allowing banks to legally provide things like loans and credit cards to marijuana-related businesses.

Trump also wants to move cannabis from Schedule I, the most restrictive category including substances such as heroin, to Schedule III, which regulates substances like anabolic steroids, within the Federal Controlled Substances Act.

This would be the first step to easing federal restrictions and furthering cannabis development and research that investigates marijuana’s numerous health benefits.

Currently, the Drug Enforcement Administration has scheduled the hearing of the proposed rescheduling of marijuana’s drug category until after the new presidential winner takes office, making the presidential candidate’s stance even more imperative to voters.

However, many are still skeptical of his stance on legalizing cannabis, including his opponent, Kamala Harris.

The Skepticism Surrounding His Recent Support to Legalize Cannabis

Harris has strongly criticized what appears to be a significant shift in Trump’s stance on legalizing marijuana as of late, stating he has instead pulled marijuana reform backward before now.

As she pointed out recently, while Trump was in office, his Justice Department cracked down on non-violent marijuana offenses. Trump’s former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had a clear stance against marijuana and allowed federal prosecutors to pursue cannabis-related crimes even in states where it was legal.

A recent report from ABC News discusses how Trump withdrew guidelines that were legal under state laws, even proposing to remove medical marijuana protections.

When he was first running for president in 2016, his campaign said that he favored leaving the issue of legalizing cannabis to the states. But in 2021, the fiscal budget proposal did include removing these protections for state medical marijuana laws. However, he did also tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill that codified federal policies, respecting states’ right to legalize.  

While some wonder if he is now trying to sway the younger voters and those in favor of legalizing cannabis, others think he simply may have evolved his stance since his time as President years ago. This is because of his formerly lost concern with marijuana issues in the past while focusing more on things like illegal immigration instead.

Where Trump Seems to Stand on Marijuana Legalization Today

Of course, politicians’ positions on cannabis can, and do, change over the years.

While Harris’s position seems a bit clearer going into the election, many are also pointing out that the Biden-Harris administration had its own mixed history when it came to laws and the legalization of marijuana.

Kamala Harris has had an evolving position when it came to cannabis law and reform over the years. Back when Harris was California’s Attorney General, she was on the other side of cannabis law reform, prosecuting cannabis-related crimes. There were more mixed views on cannabis law during her time as District Attorney since she opposed the 2010 measure to legalize marijuana in California, encouraging voters to reject the recreational use of cannabis in California. However, she did support the legal use of medical marijuana.

Then, during Harris’s vice presidency, she supported movements like reclassifying marijuana and pardoning federally convicted Americans for marijuana possession. Her stance became more and more progressive as she climbed the federal office ranks.

Today, she has made it clear in recent interviews that she doesn’t believe “people shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed” and has still been vocally supportive of reclassifying marijuana.

Josh Glasstetter, a spokesperson for the advocacy group called the U.S. Cannabis Council, recently addressed the newsroom about Trump’s position on legalizing marijuana, saying he had “clearly reassessed his position.” Glasstetter reflected on how Republican officials have been slower to adopt their positions on marijuana as a whole.   

“For many years now, cannabis reform advocates have talked about the growing bipartisan consensus among voters in support of cannabis reform and elected officials have been a lagging indicator, particularly on the conservative side of the spectrum,” Glasstetter said. He also mentioned how Trump’s recent support in favor of legalizing marijuana could be a crucial step in getting more Republicans to change their position.

Trump recently wrote on Truth Social, stating, “It is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.”

This year, Ohio legalized recreational marijuana, making it the largest “red state” to legalize cannabis recreationally. Currently, that means cannabis is now legal in some capacity in almost 40 states.

In addition, this marks the first instance where both presidential candidates from opposing political parties were in support of positive cannabis reform. Trump’s announcement to vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida aligns him with President Joe Biden’s positive stance on marijuana reform. 

It begs the question of whether Trump’s support for legalizing recreational marijuana in his home state will help the electoral margins since marijuana is popular across all political parties.

At this point, Trump’s vote in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida is largely considered good news and a step forward for cannabis supporters across America.