Former Prez Trump goes all in on marijuana reform … perhaps as a pregame strategy for big Prez debate

September 9, 2024

I have been covering over at my other blog statements by former Prez Donald Trump about marijuana reform: in this post nine days ago, I noted the social media post seemingly supportive of Florida’s marijuana legalization ballot initiative; in this post last week, I noted further comments suggesting his likely support for federal rescheduling. Now, via this latest social media posting from late last night, Trump has made it quite clear that he is all-in on both state and federal marijuana reforms:

As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November. As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens.

These policy positions are quite interesting and significant in their own right, but it is also notable that Trump starts his latest social media posting of his pro-reform positions with this notable preamble: “As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.” This sentiment reinforces my prior stated view that Trump, ever the populist, understands that decriminalizing marijuana for personal use is very popular. But it also now has me thinking that Trump is gearing up to attack VP Kamala Harris at their coming debate over her record as a local prosecutor jailing persons for low-level marijuana offenses.

Of course, there is a notable history of Harris being attacked on her marijuana record by Tusli Gabbart back in 2019. This new NBC News article talks about that moment and how “Gabbard won loud, raucous cheers and applause” after stating that Harris “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana.” And, of course, Gabbart has recently endorsed Trump and is apparently part of his debate-prep team:

Asked about Gabbard’s involvement in debate preparations — such as they are in Trump world — a Trump campaign official said she had been helpful getting Trump to think about the pivot from attacking Harris to highlighting his policies or what he would do differently. That included talking through how to take things one step beyond the attack lines he gives at rallies into cohesive debate answers. The campaign official said the Trump team had been trying to get Gabbard involved for a while. “Tulsi Gabbard whipped Kamala Harris’ butt on the debate stage,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “She’s offering her advice to President Trump ahead of Tuesday’s debate.”

Interesting times, and likely also reflective of the fact that marijuana reform is especially popular with many young voters that Trump seems eager to court. And, for anyone thinking more broadly about criminal justice issues and the coming Prez debate, the Sentencing Matters Substack team has a new post for you: “Presidential Debate: Agreements Call for Deeper Probing on Crime and Punishment.“

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