President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has voiced support for decriminalizing marijuana possession.
Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister, who Trump says he plans to nominate for DEA administrator, applauded a 2020 move by the local board of county commissioners to treat possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana as a civil offense instead of a misdemeanor.
The Saturday announcement comes two days ahead of the start of a DEA administrative law judge hearing on the Biden administration’s proposal to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
When the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners approved the local cannabis decriminalization ordinance, Chronister issued a press release saying the reform “allows our Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office to focus our resources on arresting and prosecuting violent offenders.”
“I commend and thank Commissioner Les Miller and all of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners who worked with us to create fair enforcement and less financially burdensome penalties in regards to marijuana possession. Having consistent enforcement all throughout Hillsborough County is vital. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the city of Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City or in Unincorporated Hillsborough County, the same rules will now apply across the board.”
Chronister also served on the Florida Drug Policy Advisory Council.
He was appointed to that job by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who vigorously campaigned against a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot that got 56 percent support—but fell short of the 60 percent supermajority needed to be enacted under state law.
It doesn’t appear that Chronister publicly endorsed or opposed Amendment 3, the recent statewide cannabis legalization measure.
On Saturday, the sheriff said being picked to lead the DEA is the “honor of a lifetime.”
“I am deeply humbled by this opportunity to serve our nation,” he said.
If confirmed to lead DEA, Chronister will oversee the ongoing cannabis scheduling review initiated by President Joe Biden.
Chronister was also in the news in 2023 after he announced the arrest of a deputy in his office who was accused of selling marijuana edibles to prison inmates that he was supervising.
In 2022, he was among 64 sheriffs who endorsed Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), who later unsuccessfully sought to convince the state Supreme Court to prevent this year’s marijuana legalization initiative from qualifying for the ballot through a legal challenge.
Trump’s Team On Marijuana
So far, the president-elect’s cabinet choices have run the gamut as far as their cannabis positions are concerned.
For example, the next head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could be a vociferous opponent of marijuana reform if the former GOP Florida congressman that Trump selected for the job, Dave Weldon, is ultimately confirmed.
Trump’s pick to run the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also a medical marijuana skeptic, promoting claims that cannabis use is linked to cardiovascular issues and mental health problems for youth. He has also suggested that marijuana is a gateway drug.
In contrast, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the president-elect’s choice for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that oversees FDA, supports ending marijuana prohibition and legalizing certain psychedelics for therapeutic purposes.
Trump’s choice for surgeon general has said she’s “all for” the use of medical cannabis for certain conditions, but she’s also promoted research linking cannabis smoking to cardiovascular issues.
Meanwhile, pro-legalization former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was recently replaced by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R), who opposed medical cannabis legalization in the state, as Trump’s choice to for U.S. attorney general.
A non-governmental advisory body that Trump is putting together will have two familiar names helming the ship: Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. And while both are proponents of marijuana and psychedelics reform, giving hope to some reformers that the new entity will recommend scaling back the costly war on drugs, Ramaswamy has previously insisted on expanding the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
