Pam Bondi, the second choice of President-elect Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Justice Department, was an opponent of marijuana reform while serving as Florida’s attorney general and later in the first Trump administration.
But it’s too soon to tell how Bondi might treat the issue if she’s confirmed as the attorney general for Trump, who has signaled his support for marijuana rescheduling and cannabis banking reform.
If she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bondi will be tasked with appointing a new leader of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
That’s a key appointment for the cannabis industry since, beginning Dec. 2, a DEA administrative law judge will hear arguments for and against moving marijuana to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act.
Investors seemed neutral or cautious about the news.
Value in most publicly traded cannabis companies dipped slightly Thursday after Trump’s first choice for attorney general, former Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration.
That trend continued during initial trading Friday, with 2%-3% drops in major multistate operators such as New York-headquartered Curaleaf Holdings, Illinois-based Green Thumb Industries and Florida-headquartered Trulieve Cannabis.
Bondi anti-marijuana but pro-CBD
Bondi is a shift from Trump’s first choice to lead DOJ, the controversial Gaetz, whom some in the $32 billion U.S. marijuana industry predicted would be a boon for businesses.
A supporter of marijuana legalization while in Congress, Gaetz also was dogged by a federal sex trafficking investigation.
That complicated his confirmation, and Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration earlier Thursday.
As the nation’s top cop, Bondi will inherit the ongoing marijuana rescheduling process.
While serving as Florida’s attorney general from 2010 to 2018, Bondi:
Bondi also sat on a Trump administration opioid crisis commission that tied marijuana to opioid abuse.
Chaired by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former Trump loyalist, the commission’s 2017 report, “The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis,” acknowledged the “active movement to promote the use of marijuana as an alternative medication for chronic pain and as a treatment for opioid addiction.”
“Recent research out of the NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse found that marijuana use led to a 2½ times greater chance that the marijuana user would become an opioid user and abuser,” it added.
“The Commission found this very disturbing.”
The report went on to note a “lack of sophisticated outcome data on dose, potency, drug-drug interactions, effectiveness, and long-term consequences of marijuana used for 11 medical purposes.”
After leaving the Trump administration, Bondi joined other Trump alums at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) think tank, where she heads the legal arm.
In 2023, the AFPI released a research report on the fentanyl crisis that claimed the deadly opioid is turning up in marijuana.
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Cannabis stakeholder bullish on Bondi
Much has happened since Bondi registered her skepticism of medical cannabis.
After an October 2022 executive order from President Joe Biden, the Department of Health and Human Services made the revolutionary declaration in August 2023 that cannabis has a “currently accepted medical use” in the United States.
Capitol Hill observers told MJBizDaily that no matter who becomes attorney general, their remit likely will focus on the fentanyl crisis and issues around immigration and the border before anything related to marijuana.
It’s also unclear whom the Trump team might be considering to lead the DEA.
But at least one prominent cannabis industry stakeholder is bullish on Bondi.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers called Bondi “a great pick” but stopped short of predicting how Bondi might handle marijuana rescheduling if she is confirmed.
“I have always known her to be straight forward and very fair,” Rivers continued.
“She is passionate about ending the opioid crisis and did great work shutting down pill mills in Florida.
“She is an advocate for safe, regulated markets and I believe she will bring the same energy to end the fentanyl issues our country is facing.”
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
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