Former Trump Cabinet Member Says Marijuana Rescheduling Would Help To ‘Destroy This Country’

Ben Carson, President Donald Trump’s former secretary of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD), says a move to reschedule marijuana
that the administration is actively considering would play into plots to
“destroy this country.”

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Carson reiterated his
opposition to cannabis reform as Trump weighs a proposal to transfer
marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act
(CSA).

Asked why he feels his “caution” against rescheduling could lead the
administration to reject the reform, Carson said that “with a lot of
things, it’s just a matter of common sense.”

“It’s a matter of putting the facts on the table and then making policy
decisions based on what those facts are,” he said, pointing to a study he
claims found a “dramatic increase in crime” in neighborhoods with cannabis
dispensaries.

“It doesn’t take a great deal of intellect to recognize that when you put
these substances into communities and you make them easy to obtain, you get
a much worse result,” Carson said. “Also, people say, ‘Well, you know, when
I was young, I smoked marijuana. It didn’t cause me to have a lot of
problems.’ Recognize that the marijuana of the 60s and 70s was much less
potent than the marijuana today.”

“I think what happens is politicians try to please too many areas, and
they’re looking at this group of constituents versus that group. They don’t
want to make anybody mad, so they try to walk the middle of the line,” he
said. “But this is not a middle of the line issue. We’re talking life and
death issues. We’re talking dramatic change to quality of life issues for
people, and they can find other ways to entertain themselves.”

He went on to say that the “enemies” of the U.S. are “taking advantage” of
marijuana reform, pointing to “Chinese cartels” that “come in and do
business here.”

“I don’t want to sound too paranoid, but if I were trying to destroy this
country, I would love to get a large proportion of the population just
asking for the drugs and their check,” Carson said.

A Schedule III designation would not federally legalize cannabis. It would,
however, acknowledge that it has medical use and allow state-licensed
marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions they’ve been barred
from under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. It would
also lift certain research barriers that apply to Schedule I drugs.

The Fox Business interview came about a week after the former HUD secretary
published an op-ed where he also spoke out against the marijuana
rescheduling proposal.

The former Cabinet member’s position is also being promoted eight years
after he criticized the impact that criminal drug enforcement has on
disadvantaged communities.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

Meanwhile, Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer and his long-time
advisor Roger Stone recently traded diverging takes on the prospect of the
administration moving forward on marijuana rescheduling.

Stone separately made the case for reform in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment
last month.

Retired boxer Mike Tyson, meanwhile, recently spoke about the need for
federal marijuana rescheduling on a podcast hosted by the wife of White
House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller—saying he’s expecting
“good news” on the issue soon.

In June, the retired boxer also took to Fox News and delivered a message to
the president, urging him to reschedule, and ultimately legalize, marijuana.

That interview came days after Tyson led a letter alongside other
professional athletes and celebrities promoting cannabis reform that was
sent to Trump, calling for rescheduling marijuana, expanding clemency and
allowing licensed cannabis businesses to access the banking system.

Meanwhile, Trump’s former senior advisor Kellyanne Conway has been the
“biggest champion” of marijuana rescheduling within the president’s “inner
circle,” a GOP congressman recently told Marijuana Moment.

*Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.*

The post Former Trump Cabinet Member Says Marijuana Rescheduling Would Help
To ‘Destroy This Country’ appeared first on Marijuana Moment.