Fox News is one of Donald Trump’s favorite TV networks. Retired boxer Mike Tyson spoke to him about rescheduling and legalizing marijuana.
Days after leading a letter alongside other professional athletes and celebrities promoting cannabis reform that was sent to Trump on Friday, Tyson joined FOX & Friends on Monday where he made made the case for rescheduling marijuana, expanding clemency and allowing licensed cannabis businesses to access the banking system.
Cannabis belongs in the category of heroin. How would you classify it in relation to heroin? “He said. He said: “Anyone who’s ever smoked pot knows it isn’t comparable and ridiculous.”
Tyson reiterated his support for moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)—a reform that was initiated under the Biden administration but has since stalled at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He also emphasized the potential economic benefits of changing federal laws on marijuana for licensed state businesses.
Tyson who is the owner of the marijuana firm Tyson2.0 said: “There are over 500,000 individuals that cannot get loans because they work in cannabis alone. This is ridiculous.” “It is a very good income for the nation. It’s just not possible. It’s ridiculous.”
He added that advocates are “also working on clemency, because there’s people that still in prison—been in there for 15 years, got enormous amount of time and ridiculous sentences—for cannabis.”
Tyson argued, as well, that “the mistake we are making here is to categorize”. [marijuana] As a drug. This isn’t a drug. “It’s not a drug. His personal experience of cannabis proves this. As a young man, he described himself as “going crazy”, but he later began to use marijuana therapeutically.
Tyson, when asked whether the plant was something that should be made legal nationwide, said: “100 percent” yes. Tyson attributed this to the fact “that the time and sentences given by the courts for cannabis offenses are just totally absurd.”
As an example, the boxer used Weldon Angleos, a criminal justice reform activist and former federal marijuana prisoner. Angelos was instrumental in organizing the letter sent to Trump who, during his initial term, pardoned Angelos for cannabis-related crimes.
Tyson and Acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina habba also toured a Drug Enforcement Administration lab recently. In his Fox News interview he reiterated the points he made during that tour. He said that illegal operators in China and Mexico “fill our cannabis with pesticides, fentanyl, and other stuff that kills people.”
Tyson emphasized throughout the speech that, “Cannabis isn’t a drug.”
No one has ever [overdosed from cannabis,” he said. People drink. How many people die drinking? You put a bunch of people that don’t like each other in the room and give them alcohol and they kill each other. You give them some cannabis and they start taking selfies or whatever.”
The interview comes about a week after Trump’s first pick for attorney general in the current administration, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), reiterated his own support for rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing marijuana reform.
On marijuana rescheduling, the president did endorse the policy change on the campaign trail. But he’s been publicly silent on the issue since taking office. Gaetz said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about cannabis.
A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. And, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
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Meanwhile, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.
Adding to the uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
During an in-person hearing before the Judiciary Committee in April, Cole said examining the rescheduling proposal will be “one of my first priorities” if he was confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process—but again without clarifying what end result he would like to see.
DEA recently notified an agency judge that the proceedings are still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled. The matter sat without action before an acting administrator, Derek Maltz, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis. Maltz has since left the position.
Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding judicial challenges.
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Image element courtesy of Super Festivals.
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