Politics
Retired Congressman Who Championed Marijuana Reform Is ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Lack Of Progress Under Trump Administration

Former Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) says he’s “more than a little concerned” about the lack of progress on marijuana reform under the Trump administration since he retired from Congress last session. And part of that worry emanates from a sense that the bipartisanship cooperation he helped build around the issue on Capitol Hill seems to have waned.
After decades of work advancing cannabis policy changes at the state and federal levels, Blumenauer tells Marijuana Moment that he’s not especially encouraged by what he’s seen since departing Congress. But he grants that the seeming lack of progress over recent months in partially attributable to the “totally crazy times” in general that lawmakers have found themselves in this session.
“I am deeply concerned with continued work on legalization and our progress,” the former congressman, who served as a founding co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said. “We’ve had a whole range of things that were set up. I’m more than a little concerned that it looks like we’ve lost some momentum.”
Blumenauer emphasized that he took pride in the fact that, during his time in the House, he found ways to establish productive relationships with Republican members, “particularly for cannabis.” But “it’s not clear that we’ve got Republican partners now” beyond key GOP champions of reform such as Cannabis Caucus co-chair Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH).
He added that he’s “working hard to continue to be everybody’s friend on this issue and to be a resource. And he’s had some conversations with members about the issue since leaving Capitol Hill, but he’s actively “debating whether or not to go back on kind of a cannabis tour” to re-stimulate the momentum he helped to build.
Part of the calculus he’s considering is whether engaging on marijuana reform at this point is “timely.”
“This is very much in flux,” Blumenauer said. He also said that President Donald Trump is at least “semi-rational” when it comes to political considerations and so advocating for marijuana reform “ought to be something where he could claim victory” if he moved forward with it.
In general, however, the former congressman said the administration doesn’t have a “vision of where it gets now, and I don’t think it’s a priority of anybody that I’ve encountered in the administration or their political firmament.”
“So I think it is very much a work in progress. But they need to have somebody take control and move, and I don’t see any evidence for that,” he said. “I don’t see where it is. It’s not a priority for anybody at a time when it’s so crazy.”
In a follow up text to Marijuana Moment after the phone interview, Blumenauer said it “pains me that after so much hard work and real progress we appear to be in a state of limbo.”
“Ultimately, we will get there. It just shouldn’t be this hard,” he said.
For now, however, the cannabis reform movement on Congress appears stalled. As example of that, the Cannabis Caucus has yet to have a single meeting this legislative session.
A spokesperson for one of the Democratic co-chair of the caucus, Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), did clarify to Marijuana Moment that, while the group itself hasn’t met, staffers for the bipartisan lawmakers have been in touch and they expect a formal meeting of the caucus “will happen” after a key budget bill that’s been occupying much of Congress’s time recently is “processed.”
Meanwhile, Joyce recently reintroduced a bill titled the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act, which would end federal marijuana prohibition in states that have legalized it, while providing for a basic federal regulatory framework for cannabis products.
At the administrative level, there’s increased pressure for President Donald Trump to independently act on reform—including a call for rescheduling and banking access from top athletes and celebrities such as Mike Tyson who are imploring the president to go further than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
Trump’s first pick for attorney general in the current administration, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), recently reiterated his own support for rescheduling cannabis—suggesting in an interview with a Florida Republican lawmaker that the GOP could win more of the youth vote by embracing marijuana reform.
On marijuana rescheduling, the president did endorse the policy change on the campaign trail. But he’s been publicly silent on the issue since taking office. Gaetz said last month that Trump’s endorsement of a Schedule III reclassification was essentially an attempt to shore up support among young voters rather than a sincere reflection of his personal views about cannabis.
A survey conducted by a GOP pollster affiliated with Trump that was released in April found that a majority of Republicans back a variety of cannabis reforms, including rescheduling. And, notably, they’re even more supportive of allowing states to legalize marijuana without federal interference compared to the average voter.
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Separately, Trump picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) to run DOJ, and the Senate confirmed that choice. During her confirmation hearings, Bondi declined to say how she planned to navigate key marijuana policy issues. And as state attorney general, she opposed efforts to legalize medical cannabis.
Adding to the uncertainty around the fate of the rescheduling proposal, Trump’s nominee to lead DEA, Terrance Cole, has previously voiced concerns about the dangers of marijuana and linked its use to higher suicide risk among youth.
During an in-person hearing before the Judiciary Committee in April, Cole said examining the rescheduling proposal will be “one of my first priorities” if he was confirmed for the role, saying it’s “time to move forward” on the stalled process—but again without clarifying what end result he would like to see.
DEA recently notified an agency judge that the proceedings are still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled. The matter sat without action before an acting administrator, Derek Maltz, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis. Maltz has since left the position.
Amid the stalled marijuana rescheduling process that’s carried over from the last presidential administration, congressional researchers recently reiterated that lawmakers could enact the reform themselves with “greater speed and flexibility” if they so choose, while potentially avoiding judicial challenges.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.