Former President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested he supports decriminalizing marijuana, noting that cannabis is “being legalized all over the country.” Trump made the comments during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, adding that he will announce his position on a ballot measure to legalize marijuana in Florida “fairly soon.”
“As we legalize it, I start to agree a lot more because, you know, it’s being legalized all over the country,” Trump said, according to a report from Marijuana Moment. “Florida has something coming up. I’ll be making a statement about that fairly soon.”
Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump suggested at a press conference on Monday that he supports the
Trump made his comments after a reporter asked him about the Biden administration’s efforts to reclassify marijuana under federal drug laws and presumed Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ repeated assertion that people should not be incarcerated for low-level marijuana offenses.
“As we legalize it 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 replied. “So I think obviously there’s a lot of sentiment to doing that.”
Trump’s apparent willingness to consider the decriminalization of marijuana is a change for the Republican presidential candidate, who has repeatedly called for a hardline on drug policy. When Trump launched his bid for reelection in November 2022, he said he would make securing the southern border and combatting Mexican cartels would a be a priority, calling for the execution of drug dealers.
“We’re going to be asking everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” Trump said at the time, according to a report from NPR. “Because it’s the only way.”
Florida To Decide On Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
In November, Florida voters will decide on Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults. If passed, Amendment 3 would legalize the possession and purchase of up to 3 ounces of marijuana and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates. The measure also allows the state’s current medical marijuana licensees to produce and sell cannabis products to adults aged 21 and up.
Amendment 3 also allows state lawmakers to approve regulations for new businesses to enter the recreational marijuana market, although the initiative does not require the legislature to do so. If approved by voters, the cannabis legalization amendment will take effect six months after election day. Recent polling suggests that the ballot measure has the 60% support needed to pass.
The former president’s potential support for Florida’s Amendment 3 differs significantly from the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. At a breakfast meeting during the GOP convention in Milwaukee last month, DeSantis urged the Republican Party of Florida to oppose Amendment 3.
“It gives you a limitless constitutional right to possess and smoke,” DeSantis said about the ballot measure, according to a report from Florida Politics. I think it’s up to like, what, 40 joints, is that the 3 ounces would be 40? More than that, 80 joints. Something like that.”
DeSantis added that he opposes marijuana legalization for several reasons, including the odor of cannabis. During his failed presidential campaign, the governor said that today’s cannabis is “too potent” and repeated the unproven but commonly held assertion that drug dealers “throw fentanyl in.”
H/T: www.forbes.com
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