Donald Trump vocalizes support for legal weed
Rescheduling the plant may not be enough to alleviate the cannabis industry's insurance and banking headaches.
In a move that illustrates the issue of marijuana use and banking legalization becoming a political unifier, Donald Trump took to social media recently to express support for cannabis rescheduling.
Related: How rescheduling marijuana would impact insurance
“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 is reported to have posted on Truth Social early in September.
The former U.S. president, who is seeking reelection in November, also reiterated his support for adult-use cannabis legalization in Florida. He previously said that cannabis legalization is “going to be very good for Florida” and that medical marijuana is “amazing” for patients. What’s more, Trump has been taking meetings with cannabis industry leaders and impacted regulators.
Despite now being legal for recreational use in two dozen states, and legal for medical use in more than a dozen others, cannabis (or marijuana) remains on the federal government’s list of Schedule 1 drugs that are considered dangerous to public health. Rescheduling cannabis represents a positive regulatory step for the growing industry.
However, some cannabis-policy watchers question whether rescheduling would be sufficient to improve cannabis-business banking and finance access as it would not be the same as complete federal legalization.
Rescheduling would, however, allow cannabis businesses to take advantage of federal tax deductions.
A recent poll conducted by Ragnar Research indicated that more than 80% of adults in the U.S. support medical cannabis laws, and more than 60% favor legal recreational cannabis. The report concluded that voters in swing states “are overwhelmingly in support of responsible modernization of American marijuana policy.”
President Joe Biden supports cannabis decriminalization and has pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. Vice President and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris would likely continue Biden’s policy should her bid for office be successful.
“Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed,” Harris said early in 2024. “Far too many people have been sent to jail for simple marijuana possession.”
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