GOP Candidates Trump, DeSantis & Haley: What They'll Do, Or Not, About Cannabis Legalization If Elected

Let’s start with the frontrunner and candidate we know best after his four long years in the White House. Though the former president went back and forth on numerous issues on numerous occasions and still isn't always crystal clear on his views, let's look at his statements and glean as best we can. 
As we know, presidential candidates make all manner of promises that usually get tossed into the bin once their hand touches the Holy Bible on Jan. 20th.  
Donald Trump indicated during his 2016 campaign that he favored leaving the issue of legalization to the states while his administration upheld federal prohibition, though did not pursue a crackdown on state-legal cannabis programs. 

And Now? Trump recently called weed a “pretty popular thing” among voters, but he still contends that drug dealers should get the death penalty. Are illicit weed sellers considered drug dealers in Trump’s view? No one knows for sure although he recently said that mass shootings were “not a gun problem" but rather that "genetically engineered" cannabis and the trans community could be at fault and should therefore be investigated. So, is that a yes or a no about legalization? 

Next, and nipping at Trump’s heels, is Ron DeSantis who along with Tesla TSLA and Twitter CEO Elon Musk tried his best last week to tell the world via Twitter what he had to offer as president. DeSantis's stance on cannabis is also mixed. He seems to be a 'no' on legalization though as a Congress member and later governor, he liked the idea of Florida becoming a medical marijuana state, which it did in an overwhelming popular vote. DeSantis also approved a hemp program in 2019.

And who can forget when DeSantis proposed making it a first-degree felony with a mandatory life sentence for trafficking fentanyl or any other controlled substances that target children?

But as president, would he or wouldn’t he push for federal legalization? Again it seems we’ll have to speculate as we wait.

Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor, threw her hat into the ring early as Trump’s first major Republican opponent with a dig about his age; she called for a “new generation” of leaders. Haley is 51 and Trump is 76. Haley, former U.N. ambassador under Trump, was asked in a recent interview with WMUR -TV about federal cannabis legalization. She replied that she was a states-rights person. “I think these types of decisions are best decided at the state level,” Haley said. “It’s where people can show the power of their voice. Some states will want to see it, and that allows them the right to do that. Some don’t want to see it, and that allows them that right.” 

Who Else? There are a few others jumping into what will likely become a crowded field. 

Ex-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has positioned himself as a palatable alternative to the MAGA wing of the GOP, says he wants to “bring out the best in America.” 

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and the only Black Republican in the Senate seems to have no particular view on cannabis that we know of.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photos from Sam Holland and Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons and OpenRangeStock on Shutterstock