Before being elected president in 2016, Donald Trump promised to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, marking one of his more notorious campaign promises for his first term in the White House.
When Trump left office in January 2021, roughly 47 miles of new, primary border barriers had been added to the 654 miles that existed before his four years in office, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The United States’ southern border with Mexico stretches nearly 2,000 miles in total.
“So, we’re going to build it. Who’s going to pay for the wall?” Trump often asked his 2016 supporters along the campaign trail.
“Mexico!”
While many Americans view this as an unkept promise, Trump did follow through on other 2016 pledges: He slashed federal regulations, raised tariffs, canceled the Paris Climate Agreement, withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, kept Guantanamo Bay open, and refused to say, “Happy Holidays.”
Now, heading into his second term in the Oval Office, Trump has made another promise to the American people: support cannabis-related reform.
Specifically, Trump vowed in September that he would work with Congress to pass common-sense cannabis laws like the SAFE Banking Act; decriminalize small amounts of cannabis for personal adult use; support states’ rights to legalize and provide access to tested cannabis products; and back research into medical cannabis as a Schedule III drug.
RELATED: Trump Signals Support for Federal Cannabis Rescheduling, Banking Reform
Although cannabis wasn’t a centerpiece of his campaign—he wasn’t asking attendees “Who’s going to build a green wave?” at his rallies—the question remains: Will Trump live up to these campaign remarks?
“Being a Republican, he definitely surprised a lot of people with his support and his comments about cannabis, and it will be good to see if he keeps his campaign promises and really believes in everything that he was saying,” MariMed CEO and President Jon Levine told Cannabis Business Times. “There’s some really good [implications] if he truly backs what he’s saying and wants to have the states running the cannabis programs and the federal government not interfere.”
The interior of a MariMed-operated Thrive Dispensary in Illinois.MariMed Inc.
But that’s not to say cannabis operators of all sorts—big and small, public and private, vertical and horizontal, multistate and single state—aren’t paying attention to the political shifts in Washington.
Here, Levine provides insights on what he expects—or doesn’t expect—from another Trump presidency regarding potential impacts on the cannabis space.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for style, length and clarity.
Tony Lange: What do you think Trump’s next term in the White House is going to mean for the cannabis industry over the next four years?
Jon Levine: I think it’s going to be status quo for a while, while we watch what happens with his cabinet and his administration as things roll out. There are a lot of economic factors and everything, but I think it’s really the status quo. And the good news is that Trump, during the campaign, came out speaking highly about cannabis and a lot of the cabinet members are advocates for cannabis. So, we do feel that it’s not going to be a bad thing having the administration change.
RELATED: Trump’s Pick for Attorney General Promising for Cannabis Policy, Rescheduling
Lange: Both major party presidential candidates came out in support of cannabis reform during their campaigns this year. What does that say about politicians paying attention to the popularity among the American constituency in support of cannabis?
Levine: Well, isn’t that what they’re supposed to do; listen to their constituents and basically support things that they want? This country has shown you that the majority of the population wants to see legalized cannabis in one way or another. Even though Florida didn’t pass [Amendment 3], they had a very large percentage (56%). They didn’t get the supermajority, but it was very high in terms of the votes that they did get. It’s a shame that it’s just not the majority needed to pass in Florida, but it was a good support. … So, it’s good to see both parties finally agree on something.
Lange: After Jeff Sessions and William Barr served as attorneys general during Trump’s first term—neither of whom seemed to support cannabis very much—what’s your reaction to Trump picking Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be the next attorney general?
Levine: Well, it’s going to be, again, a wait-and-see situation. I mean, Gaetz has been a very strong advocator in pushing bills through to try to get support for cannabis over the years. It’ll be good to finally have somebody [like that]. So, we’re very hopeful that rescheduling gets pushed through and that hopefully some type of a form of SAFE Banking passes. We really do feel that they’re not dead in the water. I just think there are a lot of economic factors and world things going on that I hope they have time to focus on cannabis.
The exterior of a MariMed-operated Thrive Dispensary in Illinois.MariMed Inc.
Levine: Well, I do feel that they have to finish the process. I don’t think the Trump administration will try to stop it, and with the attorney general, if he’s approved, there shouldn’t be any type of blockers in the way of the Department of Justice, the DOJ, working on getting it through. So, they have to go through their hearings and their periods. But I do feel that the Trump administration won’t be the hindrance of stopping them from doing their job.
Lange: What’s your take on the 25 participants that the DEA picked to provide testimonies in the administrative law judge hearing for cannabis rescheduling: Any head-scratchers there?
Levine: Well, I think a lot of people were scratching their heads over the list. However, they have the right to make a presentation for both sides, and they’re trying to make sure that they’re presenting and letting everybody get a side to be able to present. And we talk about the fact that even if it does get rescheduled, there’s still the threat of lawsuits and other things that could slow the process. But we’re hopeful that with these types of hearings, people get to hear multiple sides of the information and that they do the right thing and listen to the people—that they want this to be rescheduled and be legal.
RELATED: DEA Names 25 Participants for Cannabis Rescheduling Hearing That’s Now Delayed Until 2025
Lange: Do you think granting the administrative law judge hearing will tighten up the DEA’s defense for a final rule to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III?
Levine: We’re hopeful, and we do feel that if they do the proper procedures, which they are, then there is the hope that when this does pass, it’s not fought through the court system. But I do feel that the support of the government, that they’re showing both parties [the opportunity to testify], I do feel that there’s a little bit better chance that this thing will go through pretty quickly without the lawsuits.
Lange: Trump said in September that he’d worked with Congress to pass common-sense laws, including the SAFE or SAFER Banking Act. Do you have any specific thoughts there on how his political clout could influence lawmakers in Washington, or maybe not?
Levine: Well, Trump’s pro-business, and he’s very much wanting people to work in the U.S. By getting cannabis to be legalized and getting SAFE Banking, he’d be helping us grow the industry that’s already one of the fastest-growing industries. I think his pro-business attitude could help us in getting SAFE Banking through now that we have both Republicans and Democrats agreeing that cannabis should be looked at in a different way. We are very hopeful that this will be part of what we will see for a change. We would love to see SAFE, in some fashion, go through where we can get to an uplisting, and be able to get our monies at a better rate. The rescheduling and getting rid of the 280E saves millions of dollars for everybody and puts that back into the growth of the business that we reinvest in our employees.
Lange: Is Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code the biggest implication for MariMed when it comes to rescheduling?
Levine: That’s one of the big pieces of rescheduling—the 280E indication goes away. But other things will become a little bit easier to do, because we’re not Schedule I or II anymore. It will make other companies look at us as a real business. I mean, we can’t do a lot of business with ordinary companies because of our Schedule I status. Being rescheduled will open up the market for better negotiations with better partners … and allow us to be more like a real company and save some costs.
Lange: As a publicly traded company, does your guidance change based on who’s in the White House?
Levine: No, we’ve kept our heads down. We’ve been moving forward as running this as a business. It doesn’t make a difference who’s in Washington. We still have a job to do for our shareholders, and we concentrate on running the business. The economic factors that are happening across the country, I mean, it’s just becoming a more difficult environment, but it’s one that we will get through, and by keeping our head down and steaming ahead, it doesn’t make a difference if it’s a Democrat or Republican; we’re going to continue to do what we do best.
Inside licensed Thrive Dispensary in Illinois.MariMed Inc.
Levine: I think that we’re all looking at how to better our businesses and expand them as far as we can, but our concentration right now is on the U.S. and making sure we’re doing the best we can here in the U.S. I don’t care who’s in office; it’s more about building out and running this business the correct way. Our bigger issues are the hemp-derived products that are out there today that aren’t scrutinized like the cannabis is today. And I’m hopeful that the government will drag that back in and fix that so that we’re on a level playing field.
RELATED: US Senator Proposes to Federally Regulate Hemp Products, Not Prohibit
Lange: With Republicans set to control majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House in 2025, do you think the agriculture committees in Washington will be better aligned across chambers to actually pass a Farm Bill next year?
Levine: I think that it’s really about waiting and seeing how they all work together—both parties. Republicans, they’re more pro-business, so I don’t know which way they’re going to lean on that, but it would be nice if they could concentrate on doing something to level the playing field, especially where so many people want legalized cannabis.
Lange: Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been an adversary to cannabis reform in the past: Do you think this diminishes the cannabis industry’s hopes of passing pro-cannabis legislation in the upcoming Congress?
Levine: Again, this is going to be really a wait-and-see situation. In politics, there’s always give and take, and there are a lot of issues out there today that need to be fixed with the economy, with the wars in other countries. But it’s also what each group is going to give and take that we have to wait and see how he’s going to fit into this whole thing when he’s going up against an administration that has a lot of cannabis people on it. So, time will tell.
RELATED: 25 GOP Lawmakers Condemn Cannabis Rescheduling in New Letter
Lange: Do you have any other thoughts about how a Trump presidency will or won’t impact the cannabis industry at large?
Levine: Like I said before, we run our business not caring who’s in office. We just keep our head down and we’re poised for the continued growth that we’ve already seen, and we’re going to continue through 2025. We’re happy to say that we’re expanding in Ohio with the planning of our second dispensary there. So, we’re excited for the growth in Ohio, and hopefully, they do pass some bills to help get rid of the hemp-derived products so that we can be competitive with the whole industry.
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