Trump touches on legal marijuana, to weigh in ‘soon’ on FL adult use

Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election and a Florida voter, said during an extended news conference he’ll weigh in “fairly soon” on the Sunshine State’s adult-use marijuana legalization effort.

But while the 45th president said Thursday that he is starting “to agree a lot more” with legal marijuana, he stopped well short of saying anything definitive on the issue.

Florida’s adult-use effort

Florida voters will see adult-use legalization initiative Amendment 3 on their November ballots.

If the measure gets the 60% or more of the vote to pass, adult-use sales would launch at existing medical marijuana treatment centers, which critics say gives them an unfair competitive advantage.

The dominant MMJ retailer in Florida is Tallahassee-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a multistate operator that is the leading bankroller of the Smart & Safe Florida legalization campaign.

The company has donated $55 million to the campaign as of the most recent campaign finance filings.

While the Republican Party in Florida is opposed to the amendment and is raising millions to defeat it, Trump has yet to address the issue.

Is legalization ‘a good thing or a bad thing’?

His brief comments Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida are the first window into his thinking, but he offered little.

“Well, as we legalize it, I start to agree a lot more,” Trump said in response to a question. “Because, you know, it’s being legalized all over the country.

“Florida has something coming up. I’ll be making a statement about that fairly soon.”

Before moving on to another topic, Trump added: “But as we legalize it throughout the country, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, it’s awfully hard to people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that’s legal.”

Democrats versus Republicans on marijuana

So far, marijuana is one of the major points of policy differences between Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Harris has championed the Biden administration’s ongoing marijuana rescheduling process.

And Walz signed adult-use marijuana legalization in Minnesota into law last year.

In contrast, Trump was neither a help nor a hindrance as president, though his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, spooked the marijuana industry when he rescinded the Cole Memo, which essentially left legal marijuana programs in the United States alone.

And Vance, who declined to take a position when Ohio legalized recreational marijuana last year, has likewise stayed perched firmly on the fence.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally, is firmly against Amendment 3 and used his floor time during the Republican National Convention to rail against the measure.

‘Republicans do in fact support cannabis reform’

Despite Trump’s mixed record on marijuana and his ambiguity Thursday, some Florida MMJ operators interpreted the statement as a positive sign.

“For years, I have been one of the few voices stating that Republicans do in fact support cannabis reform, and it was refreshing to hear former President Trump’s positive comments on cannabis criminal justice reform and Florida’s pending Amendment 3 which would create one of the largest recreational cannabis marketplaces in the world,” Brady Cobb, the CEO of Florida-based marijuana company Sunshine Cannabis, said in an emailed statement.

“I look forward to his upcoming announcement on Amendment 3, and hopefully, this industry can enjoy some rare bipartisan support for this key issue in our State and our country.”