With Donald Trump being in office for a little over four months now, his cabinet is finally complete. Some of these members include Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Trump’s selections may bring some uncertainty for cannabis supporters.

Before President Trump was elected, he made comments such as "in terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state," he told The Washington Post. Trump also told Bill O'Reilly in February that he's, "in favor of medical marijuana 100%." These comments could lead us to believe that Trump would take a similar approach that President Obama did which was to basically stay out of the way and allow states to implement their own policies. Although some believe that the Obama administration could have done more, Tom Angell, the founder of Marijuana Majority, said “Obama has been the best president ever for marijuana policy, though it’s an extremely low bar.”

Let’s take a look at what some of these cabinet members have said about cannabis.

In February Sean Spicer said during a press briefing that he believed the administration would push “greater enforcement” of federal drug laws, under which marijuana is still a banned substance.

Former Republican senator from Alabama, Jeff Sessions, is known to have an even harsher opinion on this. He has been outspoken and a long-time opponent of marijuana use. He has even stated that “good people don’t smoke marijuana.” Although that might be a little narrow minded, he followed that up with saying,

"I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana—so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful," Sessions said while speaking with law enforcement officers in March. "Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life."

Acting head of the DEA, Chuck Rosenberg, stated "marijuana is not medicine" while speaking at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Tom Price has a track record of voting against marijuana measures as well as earning a D from from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in their annual Congressional Scorecard. Before resigning as the U.S. Representative for Georgia to be the 23rd US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Price voted six times against amendments preventing the Justice Department from interfering with state medical marijuana laws and once against recreational marijuana laws.

Despite the fact that many of the members seem to be against cannabis legalization, former Texas governor Rick Perry has been vocal about states having the right to choose their own cannabis laws without fear of federal interference.  

We cannot predict the future or what President Trump will decide to do in regards to marijuana laws but when you look at his actions vs his words, some might say that his choice in cabinet members is more powerful than his previous statements.

Taylor Dahlquist

Texas native who finds herself traveling to new and exciting places or just a low key weekend spent with friends enjoying a beer or two after a long hike.