Weed is a largely bipartisan issue, as nine in 10 Americans support some form of legalization. Right now, though, most of the bills jeopardizing the weed world are filed and sponsored by GOP lawmakers. Many of Trump’s Republican voters were optimistic that weed policy would actually get better under his administration, but his latest moves say something different: the president recently added two anti-pot picks to his cabinet.
RELATED: Trump insiders make major prediction on federal cannabis reform
On Monday, Roneet Lev re-joined the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The physician was the office’s chief medical officer during Trump’s first term. To put it simply, Lev is staunchly anti-cannabis—she’s linked weed use to suicide and has been quoted as saying it’s an insult to refer to the plant as medical.
Lev said that people who believe in rescheduling weed, “including some in the medical community,” are “drinking that same Kool-Aid again,” according to Marijuana Moment. She has also reposted countless social media posts claiming that weed is a public health crisis and that medical studies are misleading.
Trump, on the other hand, previously voiced support for medical marijuana and the drug’s rescheduling.
Just a day later, the Senate voted 50-48 to confirm Terrance Cole as the DEA Administrator, another one of Trump’s recent nominees. As the House continues to push against the rescheduling of marijuana—a project started under the Biden Administration—Cole will have a heavy influence on the cannabis industry.
Cole has said multiple times that he will thoroughly review the proposed rescheduling of marijuana before making a decision, but has refused to say how he’d rule. Still, he’s made comments in the past that have led to concern for pro-pot advocates. In a LinkedIn post about the plant, he included hashtags like “#disorders, #notlegal4distribution, #healthissues, and #backtheblue.” He’s also reposted articles linking weed use to psychosis, schizophrenia, and alterations of sperm DNA leading to autism.
“While we welcome Terry Cole’s stated commitment to reviewing the rescheduling proposal, the industry needs more than vague assurances,” said Terry Mendez, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, in a statement sent to GreenState. “We need regulatory clarity, fairness and above all, urgency. The decisions ahead will directly impact the viability of thousands of licensed cannabis operators and the broader financial infrastructure supporting them.”
RELATED: Celebs urge Trump to enact cannabis reform
Cole’s past words, in tandem with the thoughts of other Trump-backed politicians, don’t spark much hope. Trump has been urged by many on all sides of the political spectrum to take action on weed, and despite his hints of support for reform, it’s still largely a mystery what he’ll do.