Donald Trump Presidency: What Does This Mean For The Marijuana Industry?

Considering the way a lot of people are reacting, it would appear as if the looming Donald Trump presidency has flipped the United States upside down. Regardless of what you do or don’t believe, everyone is wondering what Donald Trump’s presidency will mean for his or her beliefs.

Marijuana users (as well as anyone who supports legalizing marijuana) has one simple question – how will the Trump presidency impact the marijuana industry?

Technically, Marijuana Won On Election Day

The Motley Fool reports that Election Day 2016 was a win in the books for marijuana. Residents in nine different states were voting on whether or not to legalize marijuana. Five of those states were even voting on whether or not to legalize recreational use. California, specifically, being the biggest state on the list and arguably one of the most significant changes in the marijuana industry as it is the eighth-largest GDP on the planet.

Considering it has now been decided that the state of California is capable of regulating marijuana to make it legal for recreational use, it is safe to assume the entire United States should be just as capable of doing the same thing. Does the win in California mean other states will soon follow?

According to 24/7 Wall St, eight of the nine states who voted on either the legalization of medical or recreational marijuana approved the statewide measures. In addition to California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada all approved the initiatives making it legal to use recreational marijuana in the state. Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota approved medical marijuana initiatives. The state of Montana passed an additional measure to legalize commercial growing and distribution. The only state that considered making recreational marijuana legal that did not approve the initiative was the state of Arizona.

How Will The Trump Presidency Change The Marijuana Industry?

The Motley Fool points out the fact that how the marijuana industry could change under the presidency of Donald Trump is open to a lot of interpretation at this point in time. Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball that allows them to see the decisions Trump and Congress will make regarding the marijuana industry between now and January 2020.

#StopThePot: Trump trolls launch a new misinformation campaign targeting marijuana supporters https://t.co/g4S6zZivvS

— Wonkblog (@Wonkblog) November 4, 2016

There is, however, one major change to the marijuana industry that people are safely speculating to be a possibility. For anyone who did not follow Donald Trump and all of his pledges and proposals as he was running, one was that he would reschedule marijuana from its current status as a Schedule 1 substance. He claimed he would change it to a Schedule 2 substance or possibly something even lower.

Schedule 1 substances are considered to be federally illegal. They are also perceived to offer no medical benefits to the individual consuming them. Schedule 2 and lower substances, on the other hand, are considered to offer some form of medical benefits. They are, however, still perceived to have some addictive qualities.

According to Donald Trump himself, he is “100 percent” in favor of medical marijuana. If, during his presidency, Donald Trump was able to legalize medical marijuana across the United States, this would give doctors the freedom to prescribe marijuana. This would also open a number of doors for researching medical marijuana.

How Donald Trump Threatens Marijuana Legalization https://t.co/ndqGfpCZgk via @attn

— James Allen Thomas (@JamesAThomas67) November 4, 2016

During some primarily studies, researchers have seen signs that medical marijuana can help with glaucoma, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Who knows what illnesses and medical conditions marijuana could help with if Trump legalized medical marijuana across the country?

It is also possible rescheduling marijuana could backfire as it would cause the FDA to step in and regulate marijuana. This would give the FDA free range to regulate grow farms; and anyone who is in the growing business in the marijuana industry without deep pockets may (or may not) be able to meet the requirements the FDA sets.

At this time, there is no way to know for sure what a Trump presidency is going to mean for the marijuana industry. Be sure and let us know how you think a Donald Trump presidency is going to change the marijuana industry in the comments section below.

[Featured Image by Canna Obscura/ShutterStock]

Donald Trump Presidency: What Does This Mean For The Marijuana Industry? is an article from: The Inquisitr News