Trump’s Marijuana Order Could Be a Terrible Mistake

President Trump recently issued an executive order directing the rescheduling of marijuana under the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) from Schedule I to Schedule III. Schedule I substances are defined as having a high potential for abuse and no medical usage. Schedule III drugs are defined as having a much lower abuse potential and some medicinal value. 

In his announcement, Trump expressed strong opposition to recreational marijuana, stating his intent was only 1) to facilitate research on cannabis as a pain and nausea reliever and 2) to facilitate clearer guidance on products that contain cannabis but do not produce a “high.” Trump was firm: “Unless [marijuana] is recommended by a doctor for medical reasons, just don’t do it.” 

Nevertheless, marijuana is now to be regulated under the CSA no more than such common drugs as Advil and Motrin. This has the potential to be a terrible mistake. In order for Trump’s words about the dangers of recreational pot not to ring hollow, he needs to take firm action to inhibit recreational use. 

First, a growing body of research demonstrates that use of marijuana:

• can alter the genetic makeup of heavy users and the fetuses of heavily using expectant mothers, causing birth defects, faster aging, and higher rates of numerous cancers;
• is associated with elevated risks of cardiovascular disease; heart attack; stroke; arrhythmia; head, mouth, and throat cancers; pulmonary disease; and liver damage;
• can cause permanent IQ loss of as much as eight points when use starts at a young age;
• can cause significant reduction in working memory—an impact found not only in heavy lifetime users but also in recent users;
• is linked to depression, anxiety, suicide, and psychoses, including schizophrenia, especially in male users between twenty-one and thirty.

Moreover, estimates show 10 percent of all marijuana users will become addicted, a number that spikes to one in six for those who start use before eighteen. 

It is precisely because marijuana is so dangerous that a raft of federal laws exists designed to inhibit use. These laws are not impacted by rescheduling and can only be revoked by Congress. Marijuana possession and distribution remain illegal under federal law—although Congress and the executive branch over the past decade have watered down federal enforcement. 

In 2013, the Obama administration issued charging priorities stating that U.S. attorneys should not prosecute violations of federal marijuana laws in those states that have legalized it, except in cases of marijuana distribution to minors or distribution involving high levels of potential for violence, impaired driving, or revenue being funneled to cartels or gangs. 

During the first Trump administration, the DOJ formally revoked this policy but replaced it only with a statement calling for federal law enforcement to return to “well-established principles when pursuing prosecutions related to marijuana activities.” No further guidance was issued. The Obama policy had caused a sea-change in federal enforcement. In effect, President Trump ratified the Obama practice. The Biden administration did nothing to change it.

In light of the serious harms of marijuana and the real possibility that rescheduling could create a slippery slope toward further recreational legalization, Trump’s DOJ should rework its charging instructions. Given the connection between marijuana use and schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses in individuals under thirty, U.S. attorneys should charge in states that have legalized pot any dealers who make recreational sales to individuals under thirty. They should also prosecute in states with legal medicinal marijuana those dealers and physicians who sell without a valid prescription or who issue sham prescriptions. The DEA should also resolutely enforce anti-marijuana laws in states that have not legalized it at all. 

Lastly, a range of other regulations against marijuana are also unaffected by rescheduling. Regulations bar marijuana advertisements on radio and television, make marijuana use a cause for termination from federal employment, and impose banking restrictions designed to prohibit corporations from saturating locales with nationally franchised pot parlors. 

Firm and informed voices must preserve these regulations. Trump needs to reiterate the importance of federal banking rules, lest rescheduling encourage changes in the law that would aid the rise of Big Pot companies with every incentive to encourage widespread use—an outcome likely to cause misperceptions about the dangers of recreational pot. Trump must also reiterate the importance of the advertising ban, lest rescheduling enable changes that would permit massive ad campaigns for marijuana—an outcome also likely to create popular confusion about the dangers. Lastly, federal policy should reaffirm that recreational use is a cause for termination of federal employment. 

If Trump fails to put actions behind his words condemning recreational use, he will betray the American people—a bitter irony for a president who professes to Make America Healthy Again.