Trump Endorses Federal Marijuana Reforms and Reiterates His Support for Legalizing Pot in Florida
Former President Donald Trump last night reiterated his support for legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida—and added that he favors rescheduling cannabis under federal law and removing barriers to banking services for state-licensed marijuana businesses. Unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent, Trump has not endorsed repealing federal pot prohibition, a move that voters overwhelmingly favor. But his recent statements on marijuana reform, coming just before his first debate with Harris, suggest he recognizes the potential political potency of this issue.
“As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media site. “We must also implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product. As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November.”
Trump’s endorsement, which he first signaled in an August 31 Truth Social post, could give a boost to Amendment 3, which would make it legal for adults 21 or older to possess three ounces or less of marijuana and allow recreational sales. As a constitutional amendment, the initiative needs support from 60 percent of voters to pass. Judging from polls conducted prior to Trump’s endorsement, it was unclear whether the initiative would reach that threshold. If it does, Florida will be the 25th state to legalize recreational marijuana use.
In addition to backing Amendment 3, Trump said he supports the Biden administration’s plan to move marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive category, to Schedule III, which includes prescription drugs such as ketamine, Tylenol with codeine, and anabolic steroids. “As President,” he wrote, “we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana [as] a Schedule 3 drug.”
That reclassification, which is still pending, would facilitate medical research by removing regulatory barriers that are specific to Schedule I. It also would be a financial boon to the cannabis industry, allowing state-licensed suppliers to deduct standard business expenses when they pay their federal income taxes. But it would not legalize those businesses, which would remain criminal enterprises under federal law. Nor would it make marijuana legally available as a prescription drug, which would require regulatory approval of specific cannabis-based products.
There was previously some doubt about the fate of rescheduling under a second Trump administration. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump said states should be free to legalize marijuana. But he also made it clear that he took a dim view of that “bad” policy, which he said had caused “some big problems” in Colorado. And as Harris pointed out after Trump endorsed Amendment 3 last month, he took two steps as president that seemed to contradict his avowed preference for marijuana federalism.
Trump’s first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, rescinded a Justice Department memo that encouraged federal prosecutors to leave state-licensed cannabis suppliers alone. Trump also proposed eliminating an annually renewed spending rider that bars the Justice Department from interfering with state medical marijuana programs. Although nothing came of either move, Harris argued tha
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