Politics
GOP Senators Claim Marijuana Is A ‘Gateway Drug’ As They Oppose Rescheduling And Legalization
Two GOP senators said recently that they remain opposed to marijuana reform—in part, because they believe cannabis is a “gateway drug,” perpetuating the dubious claim as other Republican lawmakers members raise concerns about the Biden administration’s push to enact rescheduling.
In an interview with St. Louis Public Radio that aired on Monday, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) was asked about his views on various cannabis reform proposals, including comprehensive legalization and bipartisan legislation to protect banks that work with state-licensed marijuana businesses.
“I just think that marijuana is still a gateway drug,” Hawley said. “We have medicinal marijuana, which I did support in Missouri. So if you want to get the medicinal benefits, there’s a way to capture that.” He did caveat, however, that he thinks “the medicinal benefits of it are limited.”
But while he knows the state’s voters have since approved adult-use legalization and would “abide by” the law, he said he didn’t vote for it and “wouldn’t support extending it.”
“I think, for kids and teenagers, the dangers of that, the long-term, the longitudinal use, I think the dangers are high,” Hawley said. “I think what it leads to is dangerous.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) separately said on Saturday that he also believes “marijuana is a gateway drug,” which has informed his opposition to federal and state-level reform, including a legalization proposal on the ballot in his state of Florida.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure these don’t pass,” he said, according to Florida Politics, referring to both the cannabis measure and another ballot initiative on reproductive rights.
Meanwhile, a number of other GOP senators similarly voiced opposition to various marijuana reform proposals, including rescheduling and banking, in recent interviews with AskAPol’s Matt Laslo.
For example, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that he feels rescheduling marijuana is “a bad idea,” adding that “marijuana is far more potent than people of my generation remember and this is a bad decision.” Asked whether his opinion was based on personal experience, the senator affirmed he has not tried cannabis.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), whose state will decide on marijuana legalization this November, said, “I don’t like it,” with respect to rescheduling, which would not federally legalize cannabis.
“I think right now with the implications coming out on health care—and now to reschedule a drug, which clearly has health care implications, and suggest to young people that it’s less of a danger now? It’s just a bad message to send,” he said.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) said, “I don’t think it should be taken off the Schedule I list,” while Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) declined to comment on his position on cannabis policy, as did Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Not all Republican members are vociferously opposing cannabis reform in the lead-up to the election, however.
For example, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who’s been critical of the Biden administration’s process that led to the marijuana rescheduling proposal, still says the reform would be a “good thing,” adding that it’d be better to tax cannabis and let licensed businesses access the banking system.
In the background, lawmakers are convening for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, where Vice President Kamala Harris will be ceremonially nominated after delegates voted virtually to put her at the top of the ticket following President Joe Biden’s decision to bow out of the race.
Delegates also voted on a party platform on Monday touting Biden’s marijuana pardons and rescheduling moves, while calling for broader reform to expunge prior records.
Observers are also awaiting a formal statement from Trump about where he stands on a recreational legalization measure that will be on the November ballot in Florida, where he’s a resident, after he said he’s increasingly open to decriminalization amid the state-level legalization movement.
Harris has a more defined position on cannabis issues heading into the election. While critics, including Trump, have been quick to point to her prosecutorial record on marijuana, she’s also sponsored a comprehensive legalization bill in the Senate and called for legalization as recently as March during a closed-door meeting with cannabis pardon recipients.
Meanwhile, Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.
As president, now-2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed.
While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to codify federal policy respecting states’ rights to legalize.
That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider that prohibits the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs.
The Democratic National Committee has separately played up the Biden-Harris administration’s marijuana reform platform on social media—but it’s received some pushback after suggesting that cannabis has already been rescheduled and that the country’s “failed approach” to marijuana has now ended.
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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
