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Tag: Dana Rohrabacher

Former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Reagan, Trump, and Cannabis

Written by Anthony Johnson on . Posted in Business, Politics.

The best chance of the United States has of legalizing cannabis in the near future is passing the STATES Act that would end federal interference with state’s legalization laws as Donald Trump has signaled his support for the measure. Former Representative Dana Rohrabacher has stated his belief that Trump agrees with a states’ rights legalization approach, but that he could learn a few tips about uniting voters from Ronald Reagan.

Rohrabacher, who famously led the charge to protect states’ medical cannabis laws from being trampled by Uncle Sam, has taken his message international, keynoting the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich. Following our conference in Zurich, the Orange County, California, Republican sat down with Blick, one of Switzerland’s biggest daily newspapers, discussing his past work with Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and cannabis:

While Federal President Ueli Maurer (68) was in the USA, there was a high visit from the USA yesterday in Zurich. California Republican Dana Rohrabacher, 71, was a special assistant to US President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) and a 30-year congressman. Until he was ousted by a Democrat last year.

The conservative Rohrabacher, who has German and English roots, is touring around the world to campaign for the legalization of cannabis – especially in the medical field. So he was yesterday guest speaker at the International Cannabis Business Conference at the Hotel Atlantis. He explains to BLICK: “Every adult should be able to decide for himself what is good for him. In addition, we can use it to eliminate the business of criminals. “He himself had consumed marijuana as a 23-year-old. ”But only a short time, since then I do not take it anymore.”

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Trump could learn a lot from his old boss, says Rohrabacher. ”Reagan was able to achieve important goals and keep the people together. Trump also gets to his destination, but at the expense of the people’s unity. “Or, as Rohrabacher puts it,” Trump flies, Reagan shook hands. “

Not that long ago, Dana Rohrabacher was virtually all alone among his Republican colleagues regarding cannabis policy. Now that legalization has majority support among voters, across the political spectrum, positive changes are on the horizon. We can expect U.S. cannabis prohibition to end within the next few years, a policy shift that will certainly reverberate around the world, and Rohrabacher was a pioneer that deserves his share of credit.

The International Cannabis Business Conference returns to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this September 15-16. Get your early-bird tickets to secure your spot and save your hard-earned dollars. 

Dana Rohrabacher Talks Cannabis and Trump’s Support for Legalization

Written by Anthony Johnson on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Politics can make strange bedfellows. It is a cliche, but it is simply the truth, especially in the United States. There aren’t many political issues that progressive Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have in common with conservative Kentucky Senators Randy Paul and Mitch McConnell, yet they combined forces to (re-)legalize hemp across the nation. Portland’s liberal icon, Representative Earl Blumenauer didn’t agree with his Orange County Republican counterpart, Dana Rohrabacher, very often, but when they did, it was because they both were congressional leaders working to end cannabis prohibition.

Rohrabacher is no longer in Congress, but his political achievements live on while he takes his post-political message across the globe, starting tomorrow at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich, Switzerland. The Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche asked Rohrabacher about his history, legalization, and Donald Trump in a wide-ranging, extensive interview:

Does the president agree with you on marijuana legalization?

Yes. And, in fact, after we talked at several stops during his campaign (his first campaign), he reconfirmed that position. His position is medical marijuana should be legal. After that, cannabis for adult consumption should be left up to the states.

You even said, “Trump is the greatest hope for future cannabis reforms.”

Absolutely right. A large segment of the Republican Party has opposed any legalization of cannabis laws. I’ve been at this for about 15 or 20 years, now. The roadblock has always been my fellow Republicans. They have been afraid to legalize cannabis, even for medical purposes. Basically, they are afraid their constituency would vote them out.

I know a lot of people who think that Big Pharma has been the evil source nixing cannabis liberalization. It wasn’t Big Pharma that kept it illegal, it was Republican Congress members who were afraid that a majority of their voters would not approve this and they wouldn’t be reelected.

What I did is I found the one way to reach those congressional Republicans so they could defend themselves against political attacks from within their own party. The winning approach was focused on states rights. After years of trying, I finally managed to get a vote on the House floor on restricting the federal government to supersede those laws in the states that legalize the use of medical marijuana. It’s called the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment. [It passed by a 219-189 vote in May of 2014 and was signed into law by President Obama in December, that year.]

(Definitely check out the entire interview with Die Weltwoche.)

Regardless of one’s political leanings on other issues, it takes a bipartisan approach to end cannabis prohibition, just as it did with hemp. Thanks to Dana Rohrabacher, the U.S. is in a much better position today to capture the Republican votes needed to soon end the failed war on cannabis. Hopefully, more politicians will soon get on the right side of history.

There is still time to hear Dana Rohrabacher and a whole host of experts at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich. After our conference, stick around for CannaTrade, Europe’s oldest hemp fair. All Zurich attendees also get admitted to Cannatrade, so get your tickets today!