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What’s The Donald Trump Weed Position And Will It Benefit Cannabis Users?

By Daniel Ketchum
Published on: 10:23 PST, Sep 4, 2016

Recently, some people have been allowing themselves to believe that the Donald Trump weed position might be better than what we’ve come to expect from the GOP over the last 50 years. But while there are small indicators here and there that Trump might be more open to “liberal” policies than the rest of the Republican Party, there is also plenty of evidence to support the idea that he doesn’t believe that at all.

From a political perspective, Trump is like a large, well-dressed chameleon that attempts to blend into whatever political environment he happens to be in at the time. In short, in the matter of weed use and almost anything else, Donald Trump tends to go whichever way the wind, or in this case, the smoke is blowing. After all, Trump used to call himself a Democrat.

Yes, in the early 1990’s when Trump was a rapidly rising Colossus astride the world or, depending on your perspective, a ravenous con man, he did advocate for the legalization of weed. Trump even suggested that since America was losing the war on drugs, we should simply legalize all drugs so as to cut the legs out from under the drug lords.

Rica Madrid poses for a photograph as she smokes pot in her home on the first day of legal possession of marijuana for recreational purposes in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Brandon/AP Images)

But Donald Trump, like the fates themselves, can be extremely fickle. The Donald Trump weed position shifts as frequently as the incoming or outgoing tides. For instance, not long after Trump publicly stated his views on legalizing all drugs, he suddenly became opposed to both the legalization and use of marijuana under any circumstances.

Keep in mind that Donald Trump currently claims, according to the Seattle Times, that he has never used illicit drugs, tobacco, or even alcohol. Certainly, Trump’s doctor seems to believe this, since he included this fact in an effusive and suspiciously worded letter pointing out the remarkable health and vitality of the 70-year-old Trump.

As reported by the Washington Post, Trump just last October gave indications during an interview that he was again softening his position on weed use in the United States. In addition to advocating for the right to use marijuana for medical purposes, he also suggested that a decision about the legalization of weed in general should be left up to the individual states. However, this newly minted position on the subject of weed didn’t last more than a few months.

During a February interview with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, Donald Trump once again flip-flopped and seemed to reverse his position on the question of weed legalization. In response to the insistence by O’Reilly that something be done about the problem of marijuana, Trump gave a mixed answer.

“I would, I would really want to think about that one, Bill, because in some ways, I think it’s good, and in other ways, it’s bad.”

This classic waffling makes it perfectly clear that weed legalization advocates are whistling through the graveyard if they think Trump will really do anything, in the unlikely event of his election, to legalize weed use in the United States. More than that, the President is not a dictator, despite Republican rantings about Barack Obama. He or she cannot simply dictate policy without regard to existing laws.

That means that even if Trump were elected and did try to institute policies aimed at weed legalization, the Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate would ensure that such legislation never reached his desk to be signed. While in theory, Trump could use executive orders to minimize the enforcement of existing laws regarding weed use and the penalties imposed on those who grow weed, it seems highly improbable that Trump would do that much.

[Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images]

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