Cannabis and the Impending Trumpocalypse - Dispelling Rumors about Trump and Weed

Why is Trump going all “Anti-Weed?” – A Reefer Analysis

Trump on Weed Rumors

I’ve tried to hold off for as long as I could – but eventually, like all things in 2020 – you must write about Trump. Especially, since we’re about to enter into a series of “politically-charged” months [if that hasn’t been going on for the past few years]

leading up to the general elections.

For the most part – eyeballs are glued on what the Democrats will be doing. Who will be the grey-face to skirmish with “The Great Orange One” for the most coveted office chair in the world?

When Trump first became president – to what feels like a thousand years ago – people were terrified at what would happen to the cannabis industry. People feared the Trumpocalypse – especially under his underling – Jeff Sessions – as Attorney General.

However, the cannabis industry is stronger than ever – it has evolved much further and established itself as a stable sector. Jeff Sessions faded into the history books and made no real change to actual cannabis practices over the country.

Later on – when Trump was asked about the STATES Act – a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Elizabeth Warren and Cory Gardner – where States would have the power to end cannabis prohibition without any federal interference – Trump said, “I’d fuck with it…” [paraphrased].

Since then…people seemed to chill out about Trump’s potential impact on the cannabis industry especially since he had his hands full with the entire “Impeachment-issue” that was plaguing him at the latter-end of 2019.

Now with 2020 about to complete its second month – Trump strikes again! This time – it seems he’s planning on “Doubling Down on federal law” and removing “medical marijuana protections” in the 2021 fiscal budget.

And with that small snippet of information – THE INTERNET LOST ITS SHIT. It did not know where to find it, it was misplaced, picked up, rehashed, retweeted, archived, unarchived and then sub-sequentially lost once more.

“TRUMP HATES WEED!” some headlines read, while others mimicked similar sentiments. But what is it all about – should medical cannabis patients be concerned?

What Trump Really Said

All of the news speculations comes from a “leaked conversation” about the Trump Administration wanting to remove a specific Rider in the fiscal budget which specifically states that the federal government cannot use any of its funding to prevent states “from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”

Trump essentially wants to remove cannabis from the fiscal budget - an odd tactic that was utilized by advocates in 2014 to provide some protections for the cannabis industry – by gagging the federal government by removing their funding.

This didn’t prohibit the federal government from prosecuting – they simply couldn’t use any money and had to rely on local law enforcement to pick up the check. However, in states with legal cannabis on the books – the local law enforcement is prohibited to go after legal operations – rending the Federal government useless.

With Trump wanting to remove these provisions – there are a few different potential outcomes we can interpret:

The Federal Government Wants to Take Down Cannabis Again [HIGHLY UNLIKELY]

The Federal Government is Planning on Legalizing in 2021 [MORE LIKELY]

Trump is using Cannabis to get his name into the Meta-Narrative & to create a definitive separation between him and the Dems. [PROBABLE]

Analyzing the Probabilities

As you may know – I made a prediction that cannabis will be legalized in the US in 2021 on a federal level. I reasoned that this year since there will be presidential elections – odds are that they would move all of the cannabis itineraries to 2021.

Additionally – in the case that Trump wins – legalizing cannabis would be a MASSIVE STEP to chilling out voters on the losing side. In fact, even if Sanders would win – legalization would be a massive “chill pill” on a societal level.

This falls more in line with Probability-#2 which, I think is the most likely scenario.

Conversely – Trump or the Federal Government “just had about enough of this shit!” and are planning on going head-on against the cannabis industry. I find this highly unlikely simply due to the sheer amount of money circulating within the legal marketplace.

If you wanted to stop cannabis from setting down roots – you missed your opportunity by about eight years. I doubt the Federal government is going to want to open up that can of worms.

Finally – Trump is merely being Trump and utilizing a hot topic like cannabis to get his name in the papers. It sounds like Trump, it smells like Trump – it must be Trump?

Conclusion

Over the next few months – cannabis will become once more a prominent figure within the presidential election cycles. Most of it will be good news though and I continue to remain steadfast in my prediction that cannabis will be legal in 2021 - Trump or no Trump!