Republican drug policy shifts as President Trump ramps up psychedelics and marijuana

The days of “Just Say No” seem long gone.

Over the weekend, President Trump signed an executive order increasing the availability of certain psychedelic drugs as treatments for mental illnesses, ordering $50 million in spending and expedited review for approval by the Food and Drug Administration. At one point, the president joked to a motley crowd of government officials, former Navy SEALs and podcaster Joe Rogan, “Can I have a little bit?”

The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it has downgraded medical marijuana from its top status as a controlled substance and is asking the Drug Enforcement Administration to do the same for recreational marijuana.

The president’s leniency toward some mind-altering drugs is ushering in a new world of right-wing drug policy. While the administration has emphasized hard-line militaristic tactics when it comes to fentanyl, recent actions on “softer” drugs could represent a new era not just for Republican politics but for American drug policy as a whole.

“With this impending move, we now face the most pro-drug administration in history,” Kevin Sabet, CEO of the anti-legalization advocacy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement. “Policy is now being dictated by marijuana CEOs, psychedelic investors, and addicted podcasters. This is an unprecedented travesty and injustice to the American people. The marijuana industry is the new Big Tobacco, and President Trump is welcoming it with open arms into the homes of families across this country.”

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