The first Donald Trump administration (2017–2021) took positions against

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and against the easing of laws regarding marijuana.Brendan Bures
Trump administration doubles down on anti-marijuana position
, ''Chicago Tribune'' Content Agency (February 21, 2020). Although Trump indicated during his 2016 presidential campaign that he favored leaving the issue of legalization of marijuana to the states, his administration subsequently upheld the federal prohibition of cannabis, and Trump's 2021 fiscal budget proposal included removing protections for state medical marijuana laws. In 2018, the administration rescinded the 2013 Cole Memorandum, an Obama-era

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

policy that generally directed federal prosecutors not to pursue marijuana prosecutions in states where marijuana is legal as a matter of state law. However, Trump signed the 2018 farm bill, which descheduled some cannabis products from the Controlled Substances Act for the first time.

Early statements

At a press conference in February 2017,

White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...

Sean Spicer indicated that the federal government could pursue greater enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws, with the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

under Trump "further looking into" states where

recreational marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

was legal as a matter of state law. Spicer distinguished between recreational marijuana use and medical marijuana use, suggesting that Trump "understands the pain and suffering that many people go through who are facing, especially terminal diseases, and the comfort that some of these drugs, including medical marijuana, can bring to them". Spicer stated that the administration believed there was a link between recreational marijuana use and opiate abuse, despite current studies that show the reverse and that marijuana use actually results in a lower incidence of opiate abuse.

Rescission of the Cole Memorandum and Obama-era non-interference policy

On January 4, 2018, Attorney General

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

rescinded three Obama-era memos that had adopted a policy of non-interference with states that have legalized recreational marijuana, including the 2013 Cole Memorandum. In April 2018, after U.S. Senator

Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district from ...

(Republican of Colorado), threatened to block the appointment of 20 Justice Department nominees in response to the Cole Memorandum's rescission, Gardner said that he had made a deal with Trump in which the administration said it would uphold the rights of states to regulate cannabis within their associated jurisdictions and assured states with legalized cannabis that the rescission of the Cole Memo would not subject them to federal prosecutors.

Legislation

One of the first official statements on the Trump administration's policies came in May 2017, when, while signing the 2017 omnibus appropriations bill, Trump included a

signing statement A signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. They are usually printed in the Federal Register's '' Compilation of Presidential Documents'' and the '' United State ...

saying that his administration could ignore the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment (formerly the

Rohrabacher–Farr amendment The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment (also known as the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment) is legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey in 2001, prohibiting the Justice Department from spending funds to interfere with the impleme ...

), which prohibits the use of federal funds to prosecute persons for medical marijuana activities that are legal under applicable state law. Trump's signing statement suggested that the congressional limitation on spending authority did not legally bind him. In June 2018, Trump stated that he would "probably" support the

STATES Act The Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act () was a bill proposed in the 115th United States Congress that would recognize legalization of cannabis and the U.S. state laws that have legalized it through their le ...

, a bipartisan bill that would effectively end the federal prohibition on marijuana and leave the issue up to the states.

Response of the states

, thirty-seven states have legalized marijuana for medical use.

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, Nevada, Oregon,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and Washington and the District of Columbia have legalized it for recreational use as well. In April 2017, the governors of Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington sent a letter to the U.S. administration urging continuation of Federal policy under the Cole Memorandum. In response to the February 2017 announced crackdown: * Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson stated Washington will defend its marijuana laws: "I will resist any efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the will of the voters in Washington state," Ferguson said in an interview. On February 15, Ferguson and Governor

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General

stating that illegal dealing in the State of Washington has been replaced with a tax-paying regulated industry, and the move has freed up law enforcement officers for other duties. Ferguson and Inslee's letter told Sessions that "Given the limited resources available for marijuana law enforcement, a return to 'full' prohibition' is highly unlikely to end the illicit production, trafficking and consumption of marijuana." * Nevada Senate Majority Leader Aaron D. Ford called on the state's attorney general to "vigorously defend" the state's laws legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana. Ford said that "Any action by the Trump administration would be an insult to Nevada voters and would pick the pockets of Nevada's students." * U.S. Senator

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

responded to the intended crackdown, by calling on the federal government to respect the decision of Oregon voters to legalize marijuana and saying that "the Trump administration is threatening states' rights, including the rights of one in five Americans who live in a state where marijuana is legal." He stated he would ask the state to oppose federal government intrusion into the state.

References

{{Portal bar, Cannabis, Politics, United States Trump, Donald administration Trump, Donald administration Trump, Donald Policies of Donald Trump First presidency of Donald Trump