Trump Silent on Subject of Marijuana During State of the Union

As we close out January 2018, the month in which the U.S. Department of Justice repealed its 2013 memo on protections for state-legal cannabis businesses, we end with silence on the matter from President Donald Trump. At his first State of the Union address last night, Trump didn’t touch the subject, even as he promised to “get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers” as part of his broader immigration reforms.

Just last week, several dozen federal legislators sent a letter to the president and requested that he intervene on the DOJ policy shift. Citing remarks from the campaign trail, the legislators pointed out that Trump had deferred as a candidate to states’ rights when discussing marijuana legalization. “I really believe we should leave [marijuana] up to the states,” Trump had said. And on another occasion: “It’s got to be a state decision.”

It’s unclear whether Trump met with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on this subject. The legislators wrote: “This step would create a pathway to a more comprehensive marijuana policy that respects state interests and prerogatives.”

Nonetheless, the State of the Union came and went without any particular guidance from the commander-in-chief on the uncertainty swirling around the domestic cannabis market. To date, nine states (and Washington, D.C.) have fully legalized marijuana; 29 states have approved medical marijuana programs.

Following the speech, U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) provided the traditional response from the opposing political party. Over the years, this event has become a stage of sorts for younger politicians who may be teeing up future runs at a higher office. Kennedy’s speech emphasized unity in ways that Trump’s did not—but the context behind the party’s selection of Kennedy is important.

Kennedy’s record on marijuana-related votes is staunchly prohibitionist. He has opposed bills that blocked DOJ interference in state-legal cannabis markets, and he has opposed the very idea of military veterans being permitted to access medical marijuana. 

Marijuana may become a critical issue in the 2018 midterm campaigns. Or it may not. The federal government has signaled contradictory stances on the subject over the past year, and only a few prominent Democrats have staked a hard-line position in favor of legalization. (The Marijuana Justice Act, for instance, has gained 24 co-sponsors in the House.)

Photo courtesy of CSPAN