A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) is making another targeted appeal to President Donald Trump.
This time it is accusing former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies want to see completed under Trump.
In its latest ad, titled “DEA Deep State,” the American Rights and Reform PAC said “medical cannabis has helped millions of patients,” leading to a rescheduling recommendation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that was later endorsed by the Justice Department.
“But Joe Biden’s DEA deep state kept cannabis illegal,” it says. “Patients need help. President Donald Trump has beat the deep state before, and now Trump can finish what he started by leading the fight to reschedule cannabis and expand research and access to care.”
“It’s time to end Joe Biden’s deep state war on American patients,” it says, clearly attempting to leverage the sitting president’s desire to best his predecessor.
But as was the case with the PAC’s last two ads, there’s some nuance that’s missing from the narrative—namely that Biden initiated the rescheduling review in the first place. And while DEA leadership under the last administration has faced allegations of bias against the reform proposal, it’s a stretch to extend that perceived opposition to Biden himself, and it’s also the case that DEA under Trump has not done anything to advance the issue.
What’s more, although Trump endorsed rescheduling on the campaign trail, he’s not yet addressed the issue since taking office. His pick to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, is also on record repeatedly voicing concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linking its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
The current acting administrator, Derek Maltz, has separately made a series of sensational claims about marijuana, calling it a gateway drug that sets children up to use other substances, suggesting marijuana use is linked to school shootings and alleging that the Justice Department “hijacked” the cannabis rescheduling process from DEA.
Just last week, DEA notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before Maltz.
Industry stakeholders are hoping to change the tides, however, with ads being promoted in Washington, D.C. and Florida where Trump is most likely to see them that play into his desire to outmatch his predecessor, while also attacking another one of the president’s political targets, Canada.
Meanwhile, the American Rights and Reform PAC is also hosting the results of a recent cannabis-focused survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump on its website.
That poll found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms—and, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
The survey showed that majorities of overall voters (70 percent) and GOP voters (67 percent) back rescheduling cannabis.
The survey was first noted by CNN in a report last month that quoted a White House spokesperson saying the administration currently has “no action” planned on marijuana reform proposals, including those like rescheduling and industry banking access that Trump endorsed on the campaign trail last year.
The White House has also said that marijuana rescheduling is not a part of Trump’s drug policy priorities for the first year of his second term—a disappointment for advocates and stakeholders who hoped to see him take speedier action.
Meanwhile, former marijuana prisoners who received clemency from Trump during his first term staged an event outside the White House on Thursday, expressing gratitude for the relief they were given and calling on the new administration to grant the same kind of help to others who are still behind bars for cannabis.
A marijuana industry-backed political action committee (PAC) is making another targeted appeal to President Donald Trump. This time it is accusing former President Joe Biden and his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of waging a “deep state war” against medical cannabis patients—but without mentioning that the former president himself initiated the rescheduling process that marijuana companies Read More
