President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney general instantly excited many marijuana industry stakeholders based on his record of supporting cannabis legalization. But well before Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was even considered a potential candidate, he’d already previewed his plans if he was chosen to lead the Department of Justice: “Go easy on marijuana.”

Gaetz, who resigned from his House seat this week after Trump tapped him for the nation’s top law enforcement position, was among the only GOP members of Congress who voted for a Democratic-led cannabis legalization bill. He did so twice, and he’s also backed other more modest reforms such as marijuana industry banking access.

Trump’s decision to select him for the attorney general role took many, including congressional colleagues and insiders, by surprise. But for marijuana stakeholders, it was a welcome choice in the sense that it signaled state cannabis markets would likely continue to see a policy of non-interference from the federal government and that Biden administration’s plans to reschedule marijuana would proceed despite the White House changeup.

Gaetz’s ascent to attorney general is not guaranteed. The congressman, who was under Justice Department investigation and the subject of a GOP-led committee’s ethics probe over various allegations, will still need to be confirmed by the Senate or otherwise ascend to the job via a recess appointment. Even with Senate Republicans having won a majority, it’s unclear if controversies related to the investigations, as well as his role in ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), will jeopardize his potential confirmation.

Beyond his votes in support of a legalization bill—the Marijuana, Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act—and other pro-reform actions he took in Congress, Gaetz also previously commented on how he’d approach cannabis issues as attorney general.

“I figure in the next term of Donald Trump—whether that’s in 2021 or 2025—that he ought to pick me to be the attorney general,” he said in 2020. “I’d go easy on marijuana, tough on big tech and I would go after the deep state. Wouldn’t that be a nice reversal?”

He made a similar comment at a New York Young Republicans event later that year, again committing to “be easy on marijuana and tough on big tech” if he became attorney general.

FLASHBACK; Matt Gaetz speaking about possibly being Attorney General: pic.twitter.com/FJT2Dnejlr

— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) November 13, 2024

While cannabis industry investors are largely excited by the Gaetz news, some policy reform advocates have so far been largely reluctant to endorse the choice, despite the stark contrast to Trump’s first attorney general when he started his first term in 2017. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions vociferously opposed cannabis reform and rescinded Obama-era guidance that generally urged prosecutorial discretion in federal marijuana enforcement.

Marijuana Moment reached out to multiple drug policy reform groups for comment. The Marijuana Policy Project and Drug Policy Alliance declined, while NORML’s representative was not immediately available.

Others in the space have strongly endorsed the choice, however.

“The nomination of Matt Gaetz to be attorney general is Exhibit A that president-elect Trump plans to keep his campaign promises regarding cannabis policy,” Don Murphy, a cannabis lobbyist and former GOP Maryland legislator, told Marijuana Moment on Thursday. “Have we ever been closer to the end of cannabis prohibition? I don’t think so.”

Meanwhile, as part of the inquiry into Gaetz by the House Ethics Committee, which lost jurisdiction over the matter after the congressman resigned, he told members in a letter this summer that he has “not used drugs which are illegal, absent some law allowing use in a jurisdiction of the United States,” and has “not used ‘illicit’ drugs, which I consider to be drugs unlawful for medical or over-the-counter use everywhere in the United States.”

The nuanced verbiage led some to wonder whether he was carving out an exception for marijuana use in a jurisdiction that has legalized it. It is also worth noting that certain psychedelics have also been legalized in Colorado and Oregon.

Meanwhile, Gaetz also said last year that he’s concerned that if the federal government doesn’t “go further” than simply moving marijuana to a lower drug schedule, large pharmaceutical companies might be able to overtake the cannabis industry.

Delist Cannabis https://t.co/UXuDODca3J

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) August 26, 2024

While Gaetz voted in favor of a federal legalization bill, he actually departed from Trump on a state-level measure to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida that failed at the ballot this month. Unlike Trump, who endorsed the measure, the congressman said in August that the reform should be enacted statutorily so that there’s more flexibility for the legislature to adjust the law in the future.

“Regardless of how someone feels about abortion or marijuana, I don’t believe that those issues should be resolved in the state Constitution,” he said.

The congressman pointed out that a limited medical cannabis bill—which he sponsored during his time in the Florida legislature—“had lots of flaws” that required fixes that would have been more difficult to address if the policy change had been written into the state Constitution.

Gaetz also joined Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and lawyer John Morgan in 2019 to advocate for expanding the medical marijuana bill he helped usher into law by making it so patients had access to smokable products.

In Congress, Gaetz has on two occasions voted in favor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill to ensure that financial institutions are protected from being penalized by federal regulators simply for working with state-legal cannabis businesses.

He further sponsored amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have eliminated language preventing military branches for testing recruits for cannabis for enlistment or commission.

New Mexico County Officials Advance Plan To Stop Punishing Off-Duty Marijuana Use By Government Workers

The post Trump’s Pick For Attorney General Has Vowed To ‘Go Easy On Marijuana’ If He Gets The Job appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed a bill to legalize cannabis cafes in the state—just one day after vetoing a separate proposal to allow small marijuana growers to sell their products directly to consumers at state-organized farmers markets and

On Monday’s signing deadline, the governor gave final approval to the cannabis lounge legislation from Assemblymember Matt Haney (D).

He also signed a series of modest reform proposals over the weekend, including a proposal to make it so medical marijuana donated to low-income patients is tax-exempt and another measure to prevent what advocates call the “double taxation” of marijuana by restricting the ability of local governments to calculate their cannabis levies after state taxes are already applied.

While the governor supports cannabis legalization, he’s been notably reserved about various drug policy proposals in recent years, for example vetoing legislation to legalize psychedelics and allow safe consumption sites for illegal drugs, in addition to nixing the farmers market proposal.

And with supporters and opponents of the cannabis cafe reform measure putting pressure on his office in recent week, the final outcome has been unclear.

Newsom vetoed a prior version of Haney’s cannabis cafe bill, saying that while he appreciated that the intent was to “provide cannabis retailers with increased business opportunities and an avenue to attract new customers,” he felt “concerned this bill could undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections.”

To that end, the measure as passed by the legislature contains changes to create separation between public consumption spaces and back rooms of businesses where food is prepared or stored in order to better protect the health of workers in line with the governor’s concerns.

“I commend the author for incorporating additional safeguards, such as expressly protecting employees discretion to wear a mask for respiration, paid for at the expense of the employer, and requiring employees to receive additional guidance on the risks of secondhand cannabis smoke,” Newsom said in a signing statement on Monday.

“While I am signing this bill, any future measure that diverges from this tailored approach will not be looked upon favorably,” he said. “Furthermore, it is critical that local governments utilize this delegated authority responsibly by prioritizing worker safety and implementing stringent safeguards that minimize public health risks when authorizing these activities. If adequate protections are not established at the local level, it could necessitate reconsideration of this limited expansion.”

Overall, the legislation that Newsom signed into law would allow on-site marijuana consumption at licensed businesses to also offer non-cannabis food and non-alcoholic drinks and host live events such as concerts if they get permission from their local government.

The bill makes explicitly clear that hemp-based food items or drinks are not considered “non-cannabis” products that could be sold at the cafes. It also says that non-cannabis items “shall be stored and displayed separately and distinctly from all cannabis and cannabis products present on the premises.”

The legislation would also allow live musical or other performances on the premises of a cannabis retailer in areas where on-site consumption is allowed.

There have been examples of California businesses that have found workarounds to permit on-site consumption while making food available to guests—but they’ve operated in a grey area, partnering with separately licensed restaurants that receive the profits.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,”Haney, the bill sponsor, said. “And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music.”

“There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal,” he said. “If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Haney also addressed a recent statement from the American Cancer Society (ACS), which urged the governor to veto his legislation out of concern about the potential health implications of smoke exposure.

“If you’re worried about secondhand smoke, shouldn’t we give people safe places to go—to consume with others who have made that choice?” he said. “Right now, because of the limits on where people can smoke legally, many people may be forced to smoke at home, around their kids, or in a car or on the street where others are walking by.”

“If you’re worried about secondhand smoke, support us in giving people safe places to go where there are protections and where people have made that choice,” he said.

Ahead of Newsom’s signing of the measure, actor Woody Harrelson—who owns a marijuana lounge in West Hollywood called The Woods, alongside co-founders comedian Bill Maher and tennis star John McEnroe—called for its enactment. Whoopi Goldberg also joined in that push, with a video encouraging the governor to sign it.

“We thank Governor Newsom for this much-needed support of social use by California’s cannabis consumers, as well as supporting the state’s cannabis industry in this way,” Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer said in a press release on Monday.

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Meanwhile, the governor also signed bills to allow tax-free medical marijuana donations for low-income patients, block “double taxation” of marijuana by local governments, allow for the consolidation of licenses for marijuana businesses involved in multiple sectors of the cannabis economy, extend existing advertising restrictions for marijuana and hemp businesses and increase enforcement authorities to prevent water violations in cannabis cultivation.

Newsom’s legislative actions come about a week after members of the hemp industry—including Cheech and Chong’s cannabis company—filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn new California regulations that outlaw most consumable hemp products in the state, including those containing any intoxicating cannabinoids derived from the plant.

The suit says the rules, backed by Newsom, are based on a faulty declaration of “emergency” and come after officials failed to effectively implement hemp regulation legislation that was enacted in 2021.

First unveiled earlier this month, Newsom’s new emergency ban won official approval from California’s Office of Administrative Law last week and took effect immediately. The rules prohibit hemp products with any “detectable amount of total THC,” while hemp products that don’t contain THC are limited to five servings per package and may only be sold to adults 21 and older.

The action came less than a month after the state legislature effectively killed a governor-backed bill that would have imposed somewhat similar restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids.

Meanwhile, a state-funded effort is underway in California to analyze the genetic information of various marijuana strains in order to preserve the state’s rich history of cannabis cultivation. It’s part of a project meant not only to acknowledge the past but also protect the future of legacy growing regions such as the Emerald Triangle.

Kamala Harris Says ‘We Need To Legalize’ Marijuana For First Time As Democratic Presidential Nominee

Image element courtesy of Gage Skidmore.

The post California Governor Signs Bill To Legalize Marijuana Cafes After Vetoing Measure To Let Cannabis Farmers Sell Directly To Consumers appeared first on Marijuana Moment.