Cannabis Talk In Tonight’s Presidential Debate Between Harris and Trump?
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump will face off in a presidential debate on Tuesday night, their first and potentially decisive encounter ahead of the November election. With both candidates polling closely nationwide and in key swing states, the debate could be a turning point in the 2024 campaign. For cannabis investors, the key question is whether the issue will take center stage, especially following Trump’s recent endorsement of Florida’s Amendment 3 ballot initiative. TDR takes a closer look.
If we harken back to the 2020 debate cycle, there’s evidence to suggest the topic might present itself during tonight’s debate. Recall that during the Vice President debate on October 7, 2020 between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, on a question posed by moderator Susan Page, the former declared, “On the issue of criminal justice reform – get rid of private prisons and cash bail and we will decriminalize marijuana, and we will expunge the records of those who have been convicted of marijuana.”
Notably, the moderator’s question made no mention of cannabis, nor did it solicit an opinion of such. Susan Page’s question was directed towards the tragic death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, an emergency room technician in Louisville who was shot and killed after police officers executing a search warrant on a narcotics investigation broke into her apartment.
Eager to win the hearts and minds of millions of Americans in which the cannabis issue is held dear, Kamala Harris injected her opinion anyway. And while Mike Pence steered away from the issue altogether, Harris’ elucidations marked the first time cannabis had ever been mentioned in an official presidential or vice presidential debate. Many industry pundits believed this was a defining moment where cannabis finally made the national stage as a legitimate political issue.
While Joe Biden eventually would win the presidency and make progress on the issue — such as issuing a presidential proclamation that pardoned many federal and D.C. offenses for simple marijuana possession offenses in 2022. Furthermore, Harris urged the Drug Enforcement Agency to expedite its review of cannabis’s Schedule I classification, calling it “absurd and patently unfair” during a White House roundtable on federal drug policy inequities in March.
Despite her administration’s cannabis-friendly posture, the first issue to consider is whether Harris feels her administration’s record on the issue is strong enough to warrant mention. Despite the victories and industry attention, many feel that more conclusive progress has been slow in coming.
We must also consider that despite Harris’ support of medicinal use of marijuana during her time as California district attorney, over 1,900 individuals were convicted for cannabis-related offenses by her prosecutors in San Francisco. This is a stalking horse Trump could mercilessly exploit should the topic be brought in play to help curry the minority vote.
Furthermore, Trump has already made several recent overtures expressing his unwavering support for cannabis legalization. The latest was this past Sunday, when Trump explained, “As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens.”
So with Trump clearly expressing his intentions should he win the presidency in November, it will be interesting to see whether Trump uses tonight’s debate to hammer home this message once again. While it’s undeniable that federal cannabis legalization is an important issue for millions of Americans, it remains a niche issue compared to traditional talking points such as the economy, national security and taxation. In effect, Trump has already preempted Harris by promising to carry the ball forward past where Harris’ administration has already taken it.
As it were, Trump already has a variety of high-impact options to beat Harris over the head with. Inflation, her prospective views on unrealized capital gains and the devastating effects of Joe Biden’s open border policy, to name a few. It might be best to stick with this winning formula for the entire 90-minute debate, if given the opportunity.
