Roger Stone and Sean Spicer – the former Press Secretary of Donald Trump – have differing views about the possibility that the Trump Administration will move ahead with the rescheduling of marijuana.
Stone, who had argued for a reform of the system in an op ed published by MEDCAN24 a few days earlier, discussed on The Sean Spicer Show on Tuesday why he thinks Trump will follow through on rescheduling.
Spicer is not convinced but argues that President Obama has made it “clear” what his philosophy on drugs and alcohol are: “No smoking, No drinking, No tattoos.
He asked, “Explain why you believe Donald Trump will declassify marijuana, of all the people.” “And as a conservative, Roger, prior to this big crackdown in D.C., walking through the city—whether it’s D.C. or New York—I’m tired of smelling urine and pot on every single block. It’s disgusting. I’m not sure why Donald Trump, or anyone else, would decriminalize pot.
Stone is pushing for a federally-wide legalization of cannabis, but the reform currently being considered would merely move the drug from Schedule I to Schedule III in the Controlled Substances Act. Trump supported the policy shift on the campaign trails, but his comments were less conclusive when he said late last month that the final decision will be made within weeks.
“Since 2016 when he got into politics, Donald Trump has always taken the position that this is a states’ rights issue—that the states should decide,” Stone said. Stone said, “It is absurd to have state and federal laws contradicting each other.”
Spicer said that he agreed with him that the “public use” of marijuana is just as illegal as carrying an open alcohol container. There isn’t drinking at every corner.
The conservative political operative, who has served as a senior campaign aide to three Republican presidents—Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Trump—then talked about how his own father benefitted from medical cannabis when he was undergoing treatment for cancer. It helped him regain appetite and ease pain.
According to his own experiences, “I do believe it has medicinal value.” “Forty states have now legalized some form of cannabis, so all I want the president to do is to move it from a Schedule I drug, where it’s classified with heroin, which is ridiculous, to be a Schedule III drug, where you can solve the banking issues in the states where it’s legal, you can solve the taxation issues—because the people who are legally in the business aren’t, in many cases, paying federal taxes, and they should be.”
The IRS code 280E, which prohibits tax deductions for cannabis companies licensed under federal law, would be removed if marijuana is moved to Schedule III. This would not, however, solve the banking issues in marijuana. Financial institutions should be cautious about engaging in the cannabis market as long it is a controlled drug.
Stone said that legalization would allow for “regulation so we can control it, so there isn’t a smell of pot at every corner.”
He said: “It’s libertarian, but consistent with President Obama’s opinion that this is a matter of state rights.” It’s high time that state and federal laws are brought into harmony.
Spicer admitted that Stone had made “a compelling case” and said that he found it hypocritical for people to be penalized when drinking alcohol publicly, but he sees people regularly smoking marijuana.
Former press secretary, Mark Halperin also spoke with the journalist about federal marijuana reform.
Spicer said, “That won’t happen.” Spicer said that it is unlikely Trump will introduce cannabis reform. Halperin, however, was optimistic.
In the meantime, nine Republican members of Congress have called upon U.S. Attorney general to refuse what they call a “corrupted” and “flawed” proposal for marijuana rescheduling.
A leading reform drug group has launched a recent petition, which urges the President to take it a step further and legalize marijuana.
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