Cannabis interests struck a hopeful note as the U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next health secretary on a mostly party line vote.
Optimism existed despite RFK Jr.’s:
Lukewarm support for marijuana reform during his confirmation hearings.
Apparent commitment to Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts to “follow the science on the harms of marijuana,” the legislator from Nebraska said on social media shortly after Thursday’s vote. Ricketts is adamantly opposed to even medical marijuana.
The Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Kennedy, a controversial former presidential candidate and notable vaccine skeptic.
All Democrats voted against Kennedy’s confirmation.
The only Republican to vote against President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
RFK Jr. says he’ll review rescheduling reasoning
Despite showing support on the campaign trail for federal marijuana decriminalization, Kennedy deflected and deferred during his confirmation hearings on the rescheduling question.
Under the Biden administration, the HHS found in August 2023 that cannabis has a “currently accepted medical use” in the United States.
That’s what led to the subsequent proposal from the Justice Department to reclassify marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 under the Controlled Substances Act.
In written responses to Democratic senators, Kennedy declined to endorse that finding by the HHS and the Food and Drug Administration, suggesting instead that it could be challenged.
“If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing the reasoning behind the FDA’s conclusion and following the law,” he wrote in a statement provided to the Senate Finance Committee.
The health secretary’s power over the marijuana rescheduling process is limited.
Absent an act of Congress, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration has ultimate sway over marijuana’s status under federal law.
And many researchers – including some studying cannabis – fear that the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to research grants could stymie scientific progress.
Industry stakeholder sees ‘shift in health zeitgeist’
Still, some in the marijuana industry remained hopeful Thursday that Kennedy’s previous support of marijuana bodes well for progress during Trump’s second term.
“RFK being confirmed demonstrates that the American perspective on ‘health’ is shifting to a less conventional and more exploratory mindset,” Emily Paxhia, a co-founder and managing director of Poseidon Asset Management, a San Francisco-based, cannabis-focused hedge fund, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“Cannabis sits squarely in the middle of this shift in the health zeitgeist,” she added.
Despite Ricketts’ confidence and Kennedy’s evasiveness, most observers maintain that marijuana reform ultimately will be dictated by the Trump White House.
While he voiced support for rescheduling during the campaign, Trump has yet to address the issue as president.
H/T: mjbizdaily.com
