According to Indiana’s Republican Governor, Donald Trump could “add a little fire” to local efforts for legalizing cannabis in the state if he moves ahead with federal rescheduling.
But the Republican senator from Indiana who is opposed to reform has increased his opposition.
Gov. Mike Braun (R)—who said earlier this year that he’s “amenable” to medical cannabis legalization, while expressing reservations about broader reform—said during a news conference on Tuesday that he thinks rescheduling under the Trump administration could move the needle in Indiana’s conservative legislature.
Braun told The Indianapolis Star that “you can extrapolate the past five or seven years to see what might happen in the future.” “So I believe [Trump’s comment] It probably increases the likelihood of it happening faster.”
The president didn’t explicitly say he intends to direct a reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) at a press conference on Monday—but he acknowledged the need for a review and said a decision would be made in the coming weeks.
Trump had endorsed rescheduling on the campaign trail as well as access to cannabis banking and Florida’s legalization ballot measure. But this was the first public statement he made since assuming office in January.
It would take a lot of work to get legalization passed in Indiana, since the GOP has shown that they are not in favor of ending prohibition.
After Trump’s comments, one of Indiana’s members of Congress, Senator Jim Banks (R – IN), voiced opposition to state reform.
“President Trump was honest in his statement that marijuana should not be smoked on public streets. There are many states who have legalized marijuana. Banks stated that it has caused more crimes and problems. By the way, I do hope Indiana will never be a state to legalize marijuana.
Senators acknowledged there would be “further discussion” on the subject.
He said, “I’m aware that there has been discussion at the Statehouse about the legalization of marijuana in Indiana.” “I really hope it doesn’t.”
For his part, the governor hasn’t ruled out legalizing adult use.
“When it came to recreational use, I was clear that this needed further discussion. He said that in certain states the result has not been satisfactory.
The Indiana governor also noted that “at least two states have legalized the full spectrum of recreational marijuana.”
Braun has previously said that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis among patients in the state. These comments were made alongside a survey that showed nearly nine out of ten Indiana adults (87%) support legalizing marijuana.
Top Republicans in the legislature, however, have openly opposed marijuana reform.
Rodric Bray said, “It’s not a secret that I don’t support this,” during a discussion panel in Indianapolis held by a law office in December. There are no people that come to me with compelling medical reasons as to why this is beneficial. Any state that has passed medical marijuana, is also passing recreational marijuana.
House Speaker Todd Huston’s (R) doubted the medical value of marijuana and called it “deterrent” to mental health. Others have suggested that the lawmakers who support this reform are only interested in boosting state revenues.
Huston responded to Senate Minority leader Greg Taylor’s (D) statement that Indiana had fallen behind nearby states who have legalized medical cannabis: “If that means we’re behind in terms of fewer people abusing an addictive substance… I’m okay with it.”
A number of marijuana reform bills have been introduced for the 2025 session, including one—from Reps. Jim Lucas (R) and Shane Lindauer (R)—that would legalize medical marijuana for people with “serious medical conditions as determined by their physician.”
For what it’s worth, a former GOP congressman who Trump initially nominated to serve as U.S. attorney general during the current term is renewing his call for marijuana rescheduling—saying the “game is over for Democrats at the ballot box” if the president moves forward on the reform.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III under the CSA. This proposal was started by the Biden Administration and currently before them. The move would not legalize marijuana at the federal level, but allow licensed cannabis retailers access to banking services. It could also facilitate research.
Meanwhile, following the president’s announcement about his intention to make a decision of cannabis rescheduling within weeks, bipartisan congressional lawmakers are urging Trump to get the job done.
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Separately, a new political committee that shares the same treasurer as Trump’s own super PAC is pushing the president to follow through on rescheduling marijuana, releasing an ad that highlights his previous endorsement of the reform on the campaign trail.
The treasurer of the PAC, Charles Gantt, is the same person named as treasurer of Trump’s political committee, MAGA Inc., which recently reported receiving $1 million from a marijuana industry PAC that’s supported by multiple major cannabis companies.
That committee, the American Rights and Reform PAC, separately released ads in May that attacked former President Joe Biden’s marijuana policy record in an apparent attempt to push Trump to go further on the issue.
A recent post on social networks appears to indicate that MAGA Inc. – also known as Make America Great Again Inc. – created an ad that promotes Trump’s “commonsense Reform” like removing cannabis off Schedule I and letting the states decide their own policy.
It is possible that the advertisement was prepared before the election of 2024.
The owner of the major gardening supply company Scotts Miracle-Gro recently said Trump has told him directly “multiple times” since taking office that he intends to see through the marijuana rescheduling process.
Trump’s former acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also recently predicted that the administration will soon “dig in” to the state-federal marijuana policy conflict, emphasizing the need to “eliminate confusion, not create it” amid the rescheduling push.
Meanwhile, Terrence Cole, who was sworn in last month as the new administrator of the DEA, declined to include rescheduling on a list of “strategic priorities” the agency that instead focused on anti-trafficking enforcement, Mexican cartels, the fentanyl supply chain, drug-fueled violence, cryptocurrency, the dark web and a host of other matters.
That’s despite the fact that Cole said during a confirmation hearing in April that examining the government’s pending marijuana rescheduling proposal would be “one of my first priorities” after taking office.
Last week, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer predicted that Trump would not legalize marijuana, though that is a separate issue from the current rescheduling proposal under consideration.
Meanwhile, a strategic consulting and research firm associated with Trump—Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, LLC—conducted a survey of registered voters that showed a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms.
Meanwhile in Indiana, a state-created study committee in 2023 recommended that lawmakers authorize a psilocybin pilot program to research psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health during this year’s legislative session, advising that “the Indiana General Assembly take an approach that strikes a balance between access, research, and prudence.”
Philip Steffan is the photographer.
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