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What you will learn in this post:
Two leading national cannabis policy reform advocacy groups have called on President-elect Donald Trump to end the federal prohibition of cannabis and make other changes to national policy during his second term. In a letter to the incoming administration, the two organizations also called for clemency for those with cannabis-related convictions, access to banking services for the cannabis industry, and gun rights for cannabis patients and consumers, among other reforms.
The two groups, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), have been leading voices in the national and state-level efforts to end the prohibition of cannabis for decades. The memo addressed to the Trump/Vance Transition Team was dated November 15 and was first reported on Tuesday by the online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment.
The memo from the two groups notes that Trump endorsed legislation to give regulated cannabis companies access to traditional banking services. Because of strict requirements under federal banking and money laundering laws, financial institutions generally do not offer such services to cannabis companies, even those operating legally under state laws.
The memo also credits Trump for endorsing a Florida initiative to legalize recreational cannabis that appeared on the ballot for the November election. Although the measure was approved by a majority of voters, it failed to garner the 60% of votes needed to pass under Florida law.
The two groups called on the incoming Trump administration to continue supporting reform and to “end the federal criminalization of marijuana, allowing states to decide cannabis policy without undue federal interference.” The reform organizations maintain that U.S. cannabis policy “remains stuck in the past” despite evidence that shows a majority of Americans support legalization.
Reform Groups Call for Federal Cannabis Legalization
The memo notes that the administration can continue efforts to reschedule cannabis under federal law, which was started by President Joseph Biden earlier this year. Alternatively, the memo suggested that Trump “can work with Congress to pass legislation to repeal federal laws criminalizing marijuana at the federal level.”
“By removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act in a manner similar to alcohol or tobacco, President Trump can reduce federal overreach and increase liberty,” the letter reads. “States that wish to continue criminalizing marijuana for adults’ use or medical use would be free to do so. But it would no longer be a federal crime to choose to relax with marijuana or for state-licensed businesses to sell marijuana in accordance with state laws.”
Other Cannabis Reforms Also Sought
In addition to ending the prohibition on cannabis, the memo from MPP and NORML calls on the new Trump administration to make other policy reforms related to the plant. The groups called on Trump to protect the Second Amendment rights of cannabis users, who are banned from owning and possessing firearms under federal gun laws.
Additionally, the letter asks Trump to end the discrimination of past cannabis users in federal employment. The groups also called on the incoming administration to expand pardons for federal cannabis-related offenses initiated by Biden in October 2022. Other suggested policy changes include calls to end the discrimination of cannabis users seeking federal housing benefits, ease restrictions on cannabis research, and establish a regulated adult-use cannabis market in the nation’s capital.
“Like alcohol prohibition before it, marijuana prohibition has failed. It has also become quite unpopular,” the two groups wrote. “President Trump can lead the nation to sensible national federal policy, which enables states to make their own decisions, and allows for sensible lab-testing and safety regulations. He can also roll back federal overreach that denies Americans their gun rights, work, housing, and federal contracts for relaxing with cannabis.”
Trump takes office to begin his second term in the White House on January 20.
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