What happens when even Governor Ron DeSantis admits that marijuana legalization is popular with Florida voters — but still refuses to support it? In today’s episode, Project Champion’s Gretchen Gailey joins the show as we break down the governor’s latest comments to Marijuana Moment. What they reveal about Florida’s 2026 political landscape, and the state’s adult-use ballot initiative could reshape the entire southeastern cannabis map? We’ll discuss in this episode.
TDR Trade to Black Podcast presented by Dutchie, with host Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell, to dissect the recent cannabis market chaos, political inertia in Washington, and rising tensions between the cannabis and hemp sectors with Gretchen Gailey.
Gretchen Gailey gives her insights from Washington regarding cannabis rescheduling. She emphasized that no movement should be expected during a government shutdown. While Trump previously teased an announcement “in a few weeks,” Gailey warned listeners to take that with “a pound of salt.”
The team debates whether hemp legalization could become the administration’s path of least resistance compared to cannabis rescheduling. Gailey suggested that Trump might use hemp-derived cannabinoids as a politically safer win, given the Farm Bill’s existing structure. State-legal cannabis markets may be considered already highly regulated and more prepared for a national rollout, however, and there are issues to be worked out with yet on testing standards.
We’ll also dive into Veterans’ access to cannabinoids, how cannabis and hemp are helping these vets, and how Schedule III may benefit them directly. Gretchen remained skeptical that rescheduling would move the needle politically. Cannabis, she says, seems to be “popular but not important” to voters. But is that true?
Lastly, we take a deeper look at Trump’s motivations, the influence of the Commonwealth Project, and the challenges of getting substantive cannabis reform questions in front of national leaders.
Check out the full interview when you tune in.
