Only Six Percent Of Marijuana Consumers Approve Of Trump’s Reform Actions...

Only six percent of marijuana consumers approve of the Trump
administration’s actions on cannabis policy to date, according to a new
survey that comes as rumors churn that the president intends to direct
federal cannabis rescheduling.

The latest iteration of a quarterly presidential approval tracking poll
from NuggMD and Marijuana Moment also found that 51 percent of respondents
would be more likely to embrace the current administration if it
rescheduled or legalized marijuana.

While some are bullish on recent news that President Donald Trump may move
forward with plans to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III, rather than
Schedule I, drug under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana users’
support for the president’s marijuana “actions” took a dip over the last
quarter.

Just 1.6 percent of respondents said they “strongly approve” of the
actions, 4.5 percent said they approve, a plurality of 38.4 percent were
neutral, 26.1 percent disapproved and 29.5 percent strongly disapproved.
“Do you approve or disapprove of the presidential administration’s actions
on cannabis?”
n: %
Strongly approve 7 1.6%
Approve 20 4.5%
No opinion/Neutral 172 38.4%
Disapprove 117 26.1%
Strongly disapprove 132 29.5%
448
Score (-50 to +50) -19.364
Net approve/disapprove: -49.6%

However, the survey data also reinforced the idea that Trump could move the
needle among voters who use cannabis if he enacted key reforms such as
rescheduling or legalization.

It found that, among the respondents, 51 percent said they’d change their
level of support for the president if he took action on those reform
proposals.

Just 1.5 percent said they’d support him less, while a 47.5 percent
plurality said their opinion wouldn’t change.
“If the Trump administration were to reschedule or legalize cannabis, would
that change your level of support for it?”
n: %
I would support it much more 172 38.4%
I would support it a bit more 56 12.5%
No change 213 47.5%
I would support it a bit less 2 0.4%
I would support it much less 5 1.1%
448
Score (-50 to +50): 21.652
Net approve/disapprove: 49.3%

“I look at this data as evidence that the White House needs to take
tangible action on cannabis rescheduling in order to capture the clear
political benefit from the audience we poll, cannabis consumers who
participate in state-legal, regulated markets,” Andrew Graham, head of
communications at Nugg MD, told Marijuana Moment.

“Trial balloons about the imminence of rescheduling won’t cut it,” he said,
adding that he doesn’t believe an executive directing a move to Schedule
III “solves the many problems with how federal law treats cannabis, a legal
substance in many states.”

However, “I do think it would benefit the sector and increase access, and
that cannabis consumers would notice,” Graham said.

The latest quarterly survey showed an overall dip in approval for Trump for
those who use marijuana, dropping from 11 percent in the prior quarter to
about six percent this quarter.

The poll—which involved interviews with 448 frequent cannabis consumers who
live in states with legal markets and has a ±4.63 percentage point margin
of error—was conducted before it became widely reported that the president
planned to move forward on the Biden administration-initiated rescheduling
process, with timelines for an action ranging Monday to early next year.

Trump on Monday confirmed when asked by a reporter that he is “very
strongly” considering rescheduling cannabis, saying the reform “leads to
tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify.”

Amid the heightened rescheduling rumors, multiple top congressional
Democrats have made the case that the reform would not go far
enough—including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) who said the move is only an attempt
by the president to “gaslight” voters into thinking he legalized cannabis
to boost his “pathetic” approval ratings.

Meanwhile, a major drug testing industry organization is “sounding the
alarm” amid reports Trump may soon finalize the marijuana rescheduling
proposal, arguing that the reform would “have catastrophic consequences for
the safety of the United States workforce and transportation sectors.”

Cannabis industry stakeholders are holding out hope that the reform will be
achieved as soon as possible, but opponents—including the National Drug &
Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) and Smart Approaches to Marijuana
(SAM)—are working to dissuade the administration before a final decision is
made. For what it’s worth, a White House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment
last week that no actions have been finalized so far.

Bipartisan congressional lawmakers have been weighing in on the potential
rescheduling decision over the past week—with Democrats like Rep. Alex
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling the reform a “no-brainer” and others like Rep.
Andy Harris (R-MD) pushing back against the proposal.

Trump said in mid-August that he’d be making a decision on rescheduling
within weeks. But despite that timeline and the escalating rumors, a White
House spokesperson told Marijuana Moment last week that “no final decisions
have been made on rescheduling of marijuana.”

The Washington Post reported on Thursday evening that Trump was planning to
issue an executive order directing federal agencies to move ahead with
cannabis rescheduling.

The outlet also said the president met earlier this week in the Oval Office
with marijuana industry executives, Health and Human Services Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Administrator Mehmet Oz. During that meeting, Trump phoned Johnson, the
House speaker, who expressed his opposition to rescheduling cannabis,

If the administration does ultimately enact rescheduling, it would mark one
of the most significant developments in federal marijuana policy since its
prohibition a half a century ago, with a Schedule III reclassification
recognizing that marijuana has medical value and a lower abuse potential
compared to other Schedule I drugs like heroin.


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Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as industry banking access and a
Florida adult-use legalization initiative—on the campaign trail last year.
The president had been largely silent on the issue since taking office
during his second term, until a briefing in August where in response to a
reporter’s question he announced the administration would decide on
rescheduling within weeks.

The possibility of an imminent rescheduling announcement comes weeks after the
president signed a key spending bill that would effectively ban most
consumable hemp products, drawing criticism from stakeholders in the hemp
industry who argue the policy change would eradicate the market.

The post Only Six Percent Of Marijuana Consumers Approve Of Trump’s Reform
Actions, But Most Would Shift Opinion If He Reschedules, Poll Finds
appeared first on Marijuana Moment.