Donald Trump's Evolving Stance On Marijuana: Is Cannabis Legalization Finally On His Agenda?

Does President-elect Donald Trump really intend to legalize cannabis?

Good question in that Trump hardly ever talked about marijuana during his first term in the White House (2017-2021). Although he made headlines on several occasions with some odd comments over the years. For example, he told the National Rifle Association that the rise in mass shootings was not about guns but instead was linked to “genetically engineered” cannabis and the transgender community, suggesting both should be investigated.

However, cannabis legalization became part of Trump’s battle with Vice President Kamala Harris during the often bitter campaign for the White House.  

This summer, during a press conference at his Palm Beach home Mar-a-Lago, Trump implied that he was open to supporting marijuana legalization.

"As we legalize it throughout the country, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, it’s awfully hard to have people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that’s legal," Trump said at the time. "So, I think obviously there’s a lot of sentiment to doing that.”

Read Also: Trump Talks Legal Weed On Lex Fridman Podcast: ‘We Can Live With The Marijuana’

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Florida Voter Who Said Yes To Legalizing Marijuana

Trump's new view on cannabis also included backing the marijuana legalization initiative in Florida, known as Amendment 3, which failed to garner 60% of the vote necessary to become a constitutional amendment.

The marijuana vote failed even though Trump announced on his Truth Social page at the end of August that as a Floridian he’d be voting Yes on Amendment 3. Interestingly, his GOP colleague, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was fiercely against the failed cannabis policy change.

Read Also: Donald Trump Appears In Florida Cannabis Legalization Campaign Ad, Discussing His Support For Legal Marijuana

Trump also came out in support of federally rescheduling cannabis and passing the SAFE Banking Act.

"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 said. “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."

The Biden-Harris administration made the same promise. Responding to Trump's late August cannabis announcement, the Harris campaign called his new view on the subject part of a long line of "brazen flip-flops."

Will He Or Won’t He?

The question remains…was cannabis the ace up Trump's sleeve that helped him win the White House again? A recent survey by the cannabis tele-health platform NuggMD found that a majority of cannabis users said they intended to vote for VP Harris in Tuesday’s election.

Either way, time will tell whether Trump’s pro-cannabis stance is genuine or if it was a strategic move to gain votes. For now, one thing is certain – major cannabis stocks are extremely jittery in view of the uncertain political landscape unfolding on the horizon, noted Benzinga's Rolando García.

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