The cannabis industry continues to watch DC

POLITICS
The political landscape changes quickly for cannabis

Driving the news: Well, that was fast. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, lasted a little over a week before he pulled his name out of the running over allegations that he had paid for sex with a 17-year old.

Late Thursday, Trump nominated former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to the position. 

Why it matters: While Gaetz was an unorthodox pick for many reasons — and perhaps unprepared to lead the DOJ — he was one of the few Congressional Republicans who supported cannabis reform throughout his tenure, as we wrote earlier this month. 

Many Trump-supporting members of the cannabis industry cheered the pick as a sign that the President-elect would follow through on his campaign promise to allow the process to reclassify cannabis from the most restrictive Schedule I to the least restrictive Schedule III to continue, as the Drug Enforcement Administration is part of the DOJ. 

Some also theorized that with a hand friendly to cannabis at the helm of the DOJ, the second Trump Administration might go further than President Joe Biden’s on cannabis policy. Cannabis investors certainly liked the pick, as stocks shot up when it was announced.

But Bondi, while sharing Gaetz’s contempt for Democrats and those opposing Trump, does not seem to share his penchant for cannabis reform, though much is unknown this early.

In 2013, Bondi — like most Florida Republicans — opposed Florida’s push to legalize medical cannabis though she didn’t block the amendment in 2016. And in 2018, she wrote a 57-page brief opposing allowing medical patients to smoke cannabis.

That’s about all we know, and it’s not enough to say whether she’ll be a friend, or a foe, to cannabis reform like rescheduling that will fall under her jurisdiction if confirmed. 

Back up: Gaetz, a controversial Florida Congressman, was the subject of a House investigation that alleged he paid a minor, among other women, for sex. While many Senate Republicans pushed back against the choice, it seemed Trump’s mind was made up — until Thursday, when Gaetz suddenly dropped out of the nomination process.

Apparently, he was asked to comment on a CNN report that he had sex with that minor twice, and then sent this tweet (xeet?) less than an hour later. 

More on SAFER: If that wasn’t enough DC drama for the cannabis industry, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer may try, again, to pass the SAFER Banking Act, a narrow cannabis banking bill, before the end of the lame-duck session and Republicans take over the Senate, per reports.

The vehicle won’t be the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), but rather the continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded, according to Punchbowl News.

Previous attempts to attach SAFER to must-pass spending bills have failed. And the bill remains the longest of shots when Republicans take over both chambers next year. Even so, this might be Schumer’s last hope in getting the bill passed. 

David Mangone, the policy director for the National Cannabis Roundtable, an industry trade group, said his team conducted 30 meetings on SAFER last week. But others in the industry, including lobbyists and investors, told MJBiz that they’re not expecting anything to happen before the end of this year.

I guess we’ll all soon find out. 

Read our Thursday newsletter for more on the narrow path for SAFER. 

-JB

“The signs are all pointing in the right direction. Let’s just hope the speed picks up,” Josh Schiller, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner and one of the lead attorneys on the landmark case challenging the federal government’s ability to interfere with state-regulated legal cannabis markets, said on Thursday’s Cultivated Live. 

You can watch the full episode here:

ALJ judge invites Smart Approaches to Marijuana to clarify 👀

The Administrative Law Judge at the center of the already contentious upcoming hearing — the first step in the process to reschedule cannabis — invited Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group and a witness in the hearing, to respond to allegations that the group had improper contact with DEA officials ahead of the hearing, reports Marijuana Moment. Read our newsletter yesterday for more on the back-and-forth around the hearing. 

Texas AG sues decriminalization law in Dallas 👎

Sixty-seven percent of voters in Dallas approved a measure that would decriminalize cannabis possession within city limits on Election Day. But on Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the voter-approved measure, saying in a press release that cities can’t “pick and choose,” which state laws they follow. 

New Jersey municipalities add cannabis to health insurance plan 🌿

Municipal and school district employees in three New Jersey towns will be able to access medical cannabis products through their insurance plans with Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Many medical cannabis patients aren’t able to access cannabis through their employer insurance plans. 

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Weed on your brain 🧠

A new study of 5,000 men found that cannabis use has “no significant harmful effects,” on age-related cognitive decline. The study, published in the journal Brain and Behavior, found that men with a history of cannabis use actually experienced less cognitive decline than non-cannabis users, regardless of the age they started using cannabis. Previous research — and long-held stereotypes — indicated the opposite, meaning more studies are needed.

DEA judge’s choice of marijuana rescheduling participants tilts toward opponents | MJBizDaily

What are the lessons from America’s great cannabis liberalisation experiment? | The Conversation