MJBiz - September/October 2024 - 32

HIGH STAKES
V O T E
ment of Sessions, who rescinded the
Obama-era Cole Memo that granted
many cannabis businesses a sense of
security-Trump's first term in office
saw the opening of major adult-use
markets such as California, Illinois
and Massachusetts, as well as recreational
cannabis legalization via
the Legislature in his home state of
New York.
Amid the industry expansion,
Trump did very little. In all,
advocates agree, Trump's marijuana
policy might best be classified as
beneficial neglect.
He didn't offer any help-the
opposition to major reform in
Congress remains the Republican
caucus-but neither did the Trump
administration use its power to
make things more difficult for stateregulated
operators.
" He appointed an attorney general
who made a show of repealing the
Cole Memo and then, in terms of
actual policy, continued to follow the
Cole Memo, " Dutchie's Barash said.
" That's a far cry from, 'Cannabis is
horrible, and we should stop it at all
costs.' "
But what would a Trump
administration do starting in 2025?
Pro-business Hopes
Most cannabis interests are banking
on the business acumen of the
former star of " The Apprentice "
reality-TV show applying to the
billion-dollar opportunities in
marijuana.
" The Trump administration
is pro-business and focuses on
seeking new revenue streams with
minimal regulations, " said Michael
Teller, chief operating officer of The
Panther Group, a New York Citybased
advisory firm that assists
cannabis companies seeking capital.
" While his base is not as procannabis
as the Democrats', there is
still support, " Teller added.
But these are educated
assumptions, and that's about all the
industry has to work with. Recent
developments offer little indication
of Republican priorities.
Beyond a speech from Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis bashing a
marijuana multistate operatorfunded
adult-use legalization
measure in the Sunshine State,
cannabis barely was mentioned at
the Republican National Convention
in Wisconsin in July.
Vance at a Glance
U.S. Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio
Republican and Trump's pick for
his vice president, similarly offers
very few recorded opinions about
regulated marijuana.
A protege of libertarian Silicon
Valley magnate Peter Thiel, who
backed California's adult-use
legalization, Vance did spend time as
an investment banker in liberal San
Francisco. But since winning office
in his home state of Ohio, the Yale
Law School graduate has studiously
avoided staking out a position on
cannabis.
He did offer a passing comment
during a 2022 campaign debate
suggesting a link between cannabis
use and violence. However, while
on Capitol Hill, Vance has perched
firmly on the fence, sliding off for
brief interludes to oppose reform.
In the months leading up to
adult-use legalization in Ohio in
fall 2023, Vance dodged questions
from local media trying to pin him
down on the issue. The rest of the
state's Republican establishment,
including Gov. Mike DeWine, were
largely opposed.
After Ohio voters legalized
adult-use marijuana, Vance took a
similarly nebulous " neither here nor
there " position, saying the will of the
voters should be respected.
In Washington, D.C., however,
Vance voted against advancing
federal banking reform in
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MJBiz - September/October 2024

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