Trump v Harris — who’s better for cannabis?

HARRIS V. TRUMP
Who’s better for cannabis?

Driving the news: President Donald Trump in recent weeks has signaled his openness to cannabis reform. He’s even thrown tacit support behind Florida’s Amendment 3, a ballot measure that would legalize cannabis in his adopted home state.

That’s a long way from his comments in 2022, where he advocated for the death penalty for drug traffickers. This is Donald Trump, after all. His public statements are far from credible.

But since Trump’s cannabis heel-turn, some right-leaning folks in the cannabis world have decided to take a very public victory lap, assuming Trump would be the pro-cannabis president they’ve long wanted. 

But that’s not what experts think.

What they’re saying: “We have a champion for cannabis reform, and that is the Democratic presidential nominee,” David Culver, the policy VP at the US Cannabis Council, an industry trade group, told MJ Biz Daily. 

Why it matters: Though experts say a potential Kamala Harris administration would be preferable for the industry, it’s important to note that Harris’ position has also evolved.

As a California prosecutor, she opposed a legalization effort in 2010. But since then, she’s introduced legalization bills in the Senate, held a cannabis policy roundtable in the White House, and has been part of the biggest change to federal drug policy in half-a-century — that is, if President Joe Biden’s push to move cannabis to Schedule III goes through after a December hearing.

So far, we only have a few offhand remarks from Trump, and nothing in the Republican Party’s 2024 platform addressing cannabis. The Democrats, on the other hand, have a long paper trail of pro-cannabis statements and legislation, including in their 2024 platform — but nothing concrete to show for it.

Our take: Trump, as we’ve written, has a real chance to steal this issue and paint the Democrats as ineffectual. But until he does in a substantive way, we’re going to believe Culver. 

Then, we’ll be in the best case scenario: Two parties duking it out over cannabis policy. Rather than the status quo, which is one party stuck in fear-mongering over legalization, and the other touting lofty goals with little progress

-JB

“Politics, not science, is driving the Biden-Harris administration’s push to reschedule marijuana,” writes former Trump Administration attorney general William Barr in a Fox News editorial. 

“Had it not jettisoned established standards and lessened the rigor of the scientific process, the administration could not validate rescheduling.”

Barr has long been an opponent of cannabis reform — but he’s increasingly finding himself lonely among fellow Republicans, given his former boss’s recent statements.

Hemp derivative OK’d in court 🌿
A federal court ruled that intoxicating THC-O acetate, synthesized from hemp, qualifies as legal hemp under the auspices of the 2018 Farm Bill. The Drug Enforcement Administration claimed the cannabinoid should qualify as illegal THC when it’s put into consumer products. The judge added that this ruling could also pertain to THCA, an intoxicating cannabinoid that is often sold as legal hemp in jurisdictions where cannabis isn’t legal. 

Regulations work 🔬
States without legal cannabis experience much higher rates of “adverse events” related to Delta-8 THC, an intoxicating compound synthesized from hemp, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology. The study’s authors call for consistent regulation of delta-8 THC across all states. 

Skipping work ⏰
A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that individuals with frequent cannabis use are more likely to be absent from the workplace, which the researchers say should support the enforcement of workplace drug prevention policies.

Ohio retailers sold $44 million worth of cannabis in August, per the state’s Division of Cannabis Control. Off to the races…

Indigenous Wisconsinites launch medical marijuana campaign | Wisconsin Public Radio