Cannabis stocks dropped like bricks following the results of the recent presidential election. With Donald Trump on his way to the White House, weed industry stakeholders are waiting with bated breath to see how the new administration will affect law reform efforts.
Luckily for them, Trump has apparently flipped on the topic of weed and has publicly called for its decriminalization. Unfortunately, changing the legal status of marijuana is outside the scope of presidential power, and the real future of the industry will hinge greatly on who Trump accepts into his cabinet.
Here’s what little we know about Trump’s picks and how they might affect weed policy:
Vance on weed
Vice President-elect JD Vance arguably had the most archaic stance on weed legalization on the presidential ticket. The good news is that voters just saw the most weed-friendly presidential race in history, and Vance’s views on marijuana amount to allowing states to continue to make their own marijuana policies.
With that in mind, he said he voted against legalization in his home state of Ohio, citing concerns about unpleasant odors. He has also claimed that legalizing marijuana increases teen use and traffic accidents.
That being said, he has also nodded toward decriminalization, saying that marijuana possession should not be punishable with prison time.
Musk on weed
Although Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk will reportedly not be taking a place in Trump’s cabinet (according to Trump, himself), the president-elect has confirmed that the billionaire will be tasked with cutting the “incredible fat” in the federal government. A great deal of Trump’s victory speech centered around the topic of Musk, whom the future president called a “super genius.”
It’s beyond doubt that Musk has Trump’s ear on a number of policies. So what’s his history with weed?
It’s tough to suss out. There’s been some scrutiny of Musk’s relationship with conservative group Faithful and Strong Policies, which recently donated $500,000 to a group that campaigned against a cannabis legalization initiative in Florida that failed last week (an initiative on which Florida resident Trump said he would vote “yes”).
While Musk has been mostly silent on marijuana legalization, he famously smoked a blunt during a 2018 appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience that had a negative effect on Tesla stock and reportedly led to a year of random drug tests from the federal government in connection to SpaceX federal contracts.
But Musk has been very open about his support for the legalization of psychedelic treatments and has even publicly admitted to using ketamine to treat depression.
Musk also owns X, the only top-level social media company that allows cannabis advertising.
RFK Jr. on weed
Another person likely to take a spot on Trump’s team will be former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. According to statements from Trump and Kennedy, the former environmental lawyer will likely be overseeing public health in the U.S. — a position that will could play a pivotal role in marijuana policy.
In 2023, when Kennedy was making his own bid for the Democratic presidential nominee, he said he wanted to fully legalize marijuana at the federal level and use the tax revenue to fund drug treatment and rehabilitation facilities. He also voiced support for giving licensed cannabis businesses access to the same financial services that are available for all other businesses. He also said he wanted to legalize and tax certain psychedelics.
In June, during his campaign for president as an independent, Kennedy spoke to a group of law enforcement officials from around the country and told them that he wanted to fully decriminalize marijuana and reiterated his plan to use weed taxes to fund drug treatment centers.
Following his endorsement of Trump, Kennedy called out Vice President Kamala Harris for her record of locking up weed offenders during her time as a California prosecutor.
If Kennedy is given a position in Trump’s administration that has him overseeing the department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), then it’s likely cannabis reform will have an easier path than it has in the past.
Unknowns
The real indicator of how the Trump administration will treat marijuana will be his pick for attorney general. So far, there isn’t a clear contender, but Trump’s law and order rhetoric on the campaign trail does not bode well for the cannabis industry.
During the last go-round, Trump appointed Jeff Sessions to the position, and the weed industry was shaken to the core when he rescinded protections for state-approved marijuana businesses that were put in place by the Obama administration. Trump fired him before he could go through with whatever plans he may have had.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and federal Judge Aileen Cannon have all been floated as possible picks for attorney general, but it’s still just swirling rumors. And even with these names, foreseeing the reality of a cannabis industry under Trump is still a wash. Ratcliffe was a Republican Texas lawmaker, making him an unlikely weed ally. The same can be said for Cannon, who operates in Florida. Meanwhile, Lee has been a supporter of decriminalization since at least 2019.
And when it comes to the slow process of rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act — a process that the Biden administration started rolling back in 2022 — there’s no telling how Trump’s cabinet appointments will affect the final outcome.