Trump Backs Legal Recreational Pot in Florida, Harris Calls It 'Pandering'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s Monday statement that he would vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida sent a strong signal that both major parties are moving to adopt popular marijuana reform efforts, unexpectedly elevating the issue in the presidential battle, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign expressed strong skepticism about Trump’s sudden embrace of reform and criticized Trump’s record in office, accusing him of “blatant pandering.” The statement from Trump, who has sought to portray himself as a “law and order” candidate throughout his political career, shows the growing support for marijuana legalization among voters of both parties nationwide — and could be a signal that GOP elected officials will align themselves with legalization, Josh Glasstetter, a spokesperson for the advocacy group U.S. Cannabis Council, said. “Trump’s statement on Truth Social signals that there is a political realignment that is well underway on the issue of cannabis reform.”

Trump said in a post to his social media platform that he would vote yes on Florida’s Amendment 3, a ballot initiative to legalize recreational cannabis use in the state. He also said he supported federal legislation to remove federal restrictions on banking services for state-legal marijuana businesses and moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The 24 states with legal recreational marijuana industries have long sought tweaks to federal law to allow banks to legally provide loans and other services to marijuana businesses that are legal under state law. Bills in Congress, while largely bipartisan, have been introduced for years but not yet won the consensus needed to become law. Schedule I is the most restrictive category under federal law and indicates a drug has no medicinal value and high risk of abuse. President Biden’s administration has started the move to Schedule III, which includes heavily regulated legal substances including Tylenol with codeine.