In the hours since news broke that President Donald Trump struck a tentative deal with Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) over future legislation protecting states that have legalized marijuana from federal intervention, there’s been a lot of feedback from advocates and political analysts. Experts react to Donald Trump’s action to protect medical marijuana…and not all are eager to show optimism.
Roger Stone Reacts
One such analyst, former Trump campaign strategist Roger Stone, described the deal—first reported by The Washington Post—as a “historic agreement,” which ought to “put an end to the insidious efforts by [Attorney General Jeff Sessions] to undermine the right presidential decision [to protect legal marijuana states],” in a text message to High Times.
Sessions, a staunch prohibitionist who has maintained that cannabis is a dangerous drug deserving of its Schedule 1 status under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), rescinded an Obama-era Justice Department memo that ensured certain protections for legal marijuana states in January, causing concern among legalization advocates and members of the cannabis industry who worried that such a move indicated a possible crackdown on marijuana businesses in legal states.
“The president became aware of efforts by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that contradicted the president’s stated position during the 2016 election that he believes that the states should determine whether cannabis should be legal,” Stone told us.
“The president made it clear that he supported the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Attorney General Sessions’ actions repealing the Cole memo—for which I applaud the Obama administration—directly contravenes the president’s position.”
It’s true that, during his presidential campaign, Trump assured voters that he would respect state rights when it comes to cannabis policy and endorsed the legalization of medical marijuana.