What Is The Future Of Marijuana Under The Trump Administration

Posted 6 years ago by Sera

Donald Trump and his entourage might be turning up the pressure for marijuana industry and activists this year. The Trump administration seems to be waging an all-out war on marijuana legalization which is going to require everybody to put up a pretty mean fight. Not that it hasn’t already been a mean fight for quite a long time. The future of marijuana under Donald Trump is going to depend on the hard work of a lot of marijuana lovers out there.

 

Jeff Session’s most recent statements about the federal government’s plans are nothing less than a little bit terrifying. But that doesn’t mean things have to look grim. In fact, cannabis is becoming one of the biggest industries in the USA, and the federal government has a vested interest in that economy – if it can put aside its ancient prejudices. The people seem to have spoken, but the federal government won’t stop talking. Which could be a huge hurdle or a great thing. We’ll have to find out.

 

A great loss for the marijuana industry

 

On the day that Donald Trump was elected and the USA lost Barack Obama, the marijuana industry lost one of its most protective political figures. Despite the fact that there was no federal policy change during Obama’s reign, there was at least protection for states. Obama had put in place measures to ensure that the federal government would not intervene with state laws, businesses, and industry. It made everybody safe to open their businesses without the fear of a full-blown federal raid.

 

Unfortunately, the marijuana industry is now under threat of the same federal raids we witnessed some years back. Jeff Sessions rescinded that guidance left by Obama, and has threatened to unleash federal police on us once again. The instructions were to “disrupt criminal organizations and tackle the growing drug crisis” – using whatever tools they deem necessary. When it comes to Trump himself, it’s hard to see where he stands on legal marijuana. His statements have been less than consistent. As for his colleague, it’s very clear that we’re looking at a weed war.

 

The benefits (and disadvantages) of divided law

It is a very strange system we have in the USA, where state law and federal law can be inconsistent with one another. The reason this was beneficial in the past is it is what allowed us to legalize in states in the first place! Without this seemingly counterintuitive system, California would never have been able to be the first state to legalize medical marijuana some 20 years ago. And since then, the proverbial snowball has not stopped rolling and growing.

 

It definitely leaves states, businesses and law enforcers in some kind of limbo. There isn’t really much solid ground to walk on at the moment. But when we consider the kind of upheaval of old pretenses that is currently taking place, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. It’s like we’ve been in the middle of a marijuana revolution for the last decade. And that’s both exciting and promising.

 

It means that there are a lot of legitimate compromises. Such as the fact that banks are still holding some reservations about working with cannabusinesses. There is a liability risk for them in a country where it is still federally illegal. However, I am still amazed at the power that cannabis activists and lobbyists have to fuel this movement, despite not having legal support on the matter.

 

A growing economy is good for the USA

 

Despite the recent statements by Jeff Sessions, states still feel like it’s their decision as to whether or not marijuana is legal in their respective jurisdictions. And rightfully so. Marijuana industry has been responsible for bringing in a lot of tax revenue for states, which is probably one of their highest interests. The potential for cannabis to bring the USA back to a booming economy and more employment opportunities is probably the number one reason the federal government has an interest here.

 

We’re talking about billions of dollars here. The potential really is enormous, and far bigger than anybody expected when this was all just a seed in someone’s hand. The simple truth is that medical and recreational marijuana are great opportunities for the USA to get their financial act together. This is the biggest leverage that weed has when it comes to its future in America.

 

Finally, it seems that the snowball is so big now, who could stand in its way without getting completely bowled over? In Colorado, California, Oregon, and Washington (just to name a few states that have legalized recreational pot), weed is now a part of everyday life. Trying to put prohibition back in place would be like trying to prohibit alochol again. Ahh, somehow I don’t think that’s going to fly with the people, who seem to be showing more and more of their power.