Recent Statements By Trump Indicate Support For Marijuana Legalization

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, a report in USA Today examines the president-elect’s positions on marijuana legislation.

It was noted that while Trump expressed skepticism about marijuana in the past, his recent statements have indicated more support for the drug’s legalization.

One example was Florida’s Amendment 3, which fell short of the 60% total required to approve constitutional amendments. The measure would have allowed recreational sales of marijuana to people over 21 from existing medical marijuana dispensaries.

In a September post on his Truth Social social media platform, Trump said “As a Floridian, I will be voting yes on Amendment 3 this November.”

One month earlier, during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said that he was beginning to agree  “a lot more” with the growing efforts by various states to legalize marijuana.

“As we legalize it (marijuana) 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.

In his Truth Social post, he went on to add, “I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.”  Furthermore, he said he wanted to “focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration has recommended categorizing marijuana as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act instead of its current Schedule 1 classification, which subjects it to the same strict restrictions as narcotics such as heroin, methamphetamines and LSD.

Trump’s recent comments were compared to his previous stance on the issue.  When he was first running for president in 2015, he was asked about the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado.  “I’d say it’s bad,” Trump said. “Medical marijuana is another thing, but I think it’s bad, and I feel strongly about that. If they (states) vote for it, they vote for it, but, you know, they’ve got a lot of problems going on right now in Colorado, some big problems. I think medical marijuana — 100%.”

The report notes that during his first term as president, he upheld federal marijuana legislation but more recently has been supportive of individual states coming up with their own legislation.

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