More than 20 Republican senators have signed onto a letter urging Trump to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug as he prepares to potentially loosen regulations on it. Punchbowl News is reporting that Alabama U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville is among them.
Led by North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, they say marijuana continues to be dangerous and that allowing it to be used more widely will “undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again.”
“The only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be left paying the bill,” the letter reads. The senators cited marijuana’s impact on physical and mental health, as well as road and workplace safety.
Along with Tuberville reportedly being among the signers on the letter. Other members of leadership such as Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and stalwart Trump allies such as Sens. Jim Banks of Indiana, and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. The letter was first reported by Punchbowl News.
As far back as August, the Associated Press reported on Trump’s plan to look at reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug in a move that could nudge the federal government closer to an approach already embraced in many states.
Trump said back then that he hopes to decide in the coming weeks about whether to support changes to the way marijuana is regulated. The renewed focus on marijuana comes more than a year after former President Joe Biden’s administration formally proposed reclassifying marijuana. No decision was made before Biden left office.
Meanwhile, many states have already gone further than the federal government by legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults or allowing it for medical purposes.
Possessing marijuana remains a federal crime punishable by fines and prison time. Selling or cultivating marijuana is a more serious offense, punishable by prison sentences of five years to life, depending on the quantity of the drug.
The Justice Department last year proposed to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD, to a less dangerous Schedule III substance, which includes such things as ketamine and some anabolic steroids. But that switch involved a lengthy bureaucratic process.
Nearly 43,000 public comments were submitted to the federal government about the proposed change. The Drug Enforcement Administration was still in the review process when Trump succeeded Biden in January, triggering a re-examination of policies across the federal government.
Reclassifying marijuana would not make it legal for recreational use by adults nationwide. Rather, it would change the way it’s regulated and taxed. Federal income tax deductions for business expenses aren’t available to enterprises involved in “trafficking” any Schedule I or II drug. Changing marijuana to a Schedule III drug could mean significant tax savings for businesses licensed to sell marijuana in states where it is legal.
It also could make it easier to research marijuana, since it’s very difficult to conduct authorized clinical studies on Schedule I substances. Due to the potential for federal penalties, many banks and financial institutions don’t provide debit or credit services, loans or other common banking products to marijuana businesses authorized under state laws. That’s unlikely to change merely by rescheduling marijuana under the federal Controlled Substances Act, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
