Tag: Trump

Officials with the Trump administration spoke out against cannabis this week. First, the United States Surgeon General issued an advisory warning about the harms of cannabis consumption. “The legalization movement may be impacting youth perception of harm from marijuana,” the advisory stated.

The advisory was largely directed at pregnant women and adolescents and its publication will be partially funded by a $100,000 donation from President Donald Trump’s salary. It did not take long for the cannabis community to take issue with the approach that the United States Surgeon General is pursuing.

“It has long been acknowledged that cannabis is a mood-altering substance with some risk potential. In fact, it is precisely because marijuana use may pose potential risks to certain consumers — for example, adolescents or people with a family history of psychiatric illness — that NORML believes that lawmakers should regulate it accordingly.” NORML‘s Executive Director Erik Altieri stated in a press release in reaction to the Surgeon General’s advisory.

Altieri went on to say, “Our current model of federal prohibition represents the utter lack of control over any aspect of marijuana or the marijuana market. The Surgeon General’s time would be better spent advocating for a legally and tightly regulated cannabis market – one in which we educate Americans about the potential harms and benefits of cannabis through evidence-based public education campaigns – rather than through fear-mongering.”

Later in the day Trump cabinet official Alex Azar (Health and Human Services) was on Fox Business promoting the advisory, but in the process, inadvertently made the case for a regulated cannabis industry when he himself pointed out that the unregulated cannabis industry doesn’t have consumer labels, which would obviously help with addressing concerns about public health education.

Today’s comments by members of the Trump administration were well summed up by Morgan Fox from the National Cannabis Industry Association, as reported by Marijuana Moment:

“Despite a lot of misinformation and selective analysis being promoted by the surgeon general and HHS today, pretty much everything they said has bolstered the case for making cannabis legal and regulated at the federal level,” Morgan Fox, media relations director for the National Cannabis Industry Association, told Marijuana Moment. “Research, honest fact-based education, and effective public health resource allocation are all stymied by prohibition.”

About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Back in March the United States Food and Drug Administration initially requested input from the public regarding international cannabis policy. The public input was meant to help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services be prepared when working with the United Nations (U.N.).

At the time it was speculated that the U.N.’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs may be voting on cannabis recommendations, and thus the United States needed to be prepared to present its position. However, a vote never materialized.

The Food and Drug Administration is now re-opening a public comment period for the same matter. People will have a 30-day window in which to provide their comment(s), as first reported by Kyle Jaeger at Marijuana Moment:

The new notice about the move to take more public input is set to be published on Thursday. After that point, people will be able to submit comments electronically or through mail for a period of 30 days.

Rescheduling cannabis under the international treaties technically wouldn’t free up member countries to legalize it without being in strict compliance, but it would reflect an evolving understanding of the plant within one of the world’s most influential intergovernmental organizations. And even the UN’s current restrictive status for cannabis hasn’t stopped Canada and Uruguay from moving forward to end prohibition.

It will be very interesting to see what the Trump administration’s position ultimately ends up being. President Trump has made multiple statements in favor of federal reform over the years, both prior to becoming president and while in office, however, comprehensive reform has yet to occur.

Cannabis reform at the international level is way overdue. Canada and Uruguay have both legalized cannabis for adult-use and other countries such as Luxembourg are likely to follow in the not-to-distant-future. The international community needs to embrace the cannabis industry, not prohibit it.

International cannabis policy and industry will be at the top of the agenda at the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia September 15-16. Whether you are a seasoned industry veteran or someone just starting to look into the endless opportunities that exist in the cannabis space, make sure to buy your tickets today and join us in Vancouver!

About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.