Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a two-part series examining the impact of international policy on domestic cannabis legalization. The first explored the U.S. journey from hemp’s agricultural roots to prohibition, the rise of state-level reforms, and lessons from international approaches like Portugal’s decriminalization and Uruguay’s legalization. This installment shifts focus to recent global milestones, such as Canada’s federal legalization and Mexico’s ongoing reforms, and considers how these changes could shape America’s fragmented cannabis policies.
Mexico began firing up fresh regs in 2018 when its Supreme Court declared the prohibition of recreational marijuana unconstitutional. The decision paved the way for legislative efforts, and by 2021, the Mexican Senate approved a bill to legalize and regulate cannabis nationwide.
That same year, Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), co-chairs of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, stressed the need for more research before changing federal cannabis policy. Cornyn, noting the “public safety implications” of increased cannabis use, speaks on the importance of understanding its effects fully before revising national policies. Feinstein spotlights the current research limitations and backs the Cannabidiol and Marijuana Research Expansion Act, introduced with bipartisan support, to allow comprehensive studies on marijuana’s effects.
As with Mexico in 2018, South Africa’s Constitutional Court takes a second look at their policy and decriminalizes private use and cultivation of cannabis. The year 2021 grants legalized recreational cannabis in Malta, in which adults can possess up to seven grams and cultivate up to four plants. In 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalize cannabis, starting with medical use and later opening the door to personal cultivation. In 2023, Germany’s on board as Europe’s biggest economy to launch a legal cannabis market, with a strong focus on health and safety. Luxembourg joined the fray that year, giving adults the go-ahead to carry up to three grams and grow up to four plants at home. It’s greased, green lightning, pretty much, which has positive implications for legislation here at home.
Patchwork Politics
Right now, we’ve got the classic “some are, some aren’t” mosaic going on in the US when it comes to cannabis laws. It’s a familiar pattern in American history: from slavery and civil rights to gay marriage and now cannabis laws, big changes often bounce back and forth between the feds and the statehouses. Alcohol was once completely legal, shifted to state regulation, went to the feds for Prohibition, and then returned to state control. Gambling, abortion, gun regs, voting rights—you name it, it’s been passed between one overreaching authority to another with the knowledge that it might circle back.
Looking Ahead: Could Federal Cannabis Reform Be Coming?
Donald Trump’s triumph in the general election of 2024 suggests a potential transformation in US cannabis policies. Trump, who endorsed Florida’s Amendment 3 for recreational marijuana, supports reclassifying cannabis to relax federal restrictions and improve banking options for businesses. His choice for US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, could also play a pivotal role in these efforts. Although she once opposed expanding medical cannabis laws in Florida, her alignment with Trump’s policy priorities indicates she may support his reform agenda if confirmed.
Bondi’s experience with Trump’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission and her actions against drug trafficking show her capability to manage complex drug policy matters. Trump has pledged to work with Congress to implement “common-sense cannabis laws,” potentially positioning Bondi to help craft a regulated, health-focused cannabis framework.
However, his policies on drug offenses also include a controversial proposal to enforce the death penalty for traffickers and dealers. Trump has not specified distinctions between different types of drugs in his plan, raising questions about whether substances like marijuana would be treated similarly to opioids or other controlled substances. Trump has repeatedly argued that large-scale drug trafficking warrants severe punishment, drawing comparisons between drug dealers and murderers in terms of their impact on communities. Despite these assertions, experts note that legal and practical barriers could limit the effectiveness of such measures, especially as most drug trafficking cases are prosecuted at the state level, beyond federal reach.
While Trump’s cannabis reform proposals align with international progress toward decriminalization, his stance on punitive measures for drug offenses introduces controversy. If enacted, these plans could reshape the legal and economic framework of US cannabis policy while sparking debates about the ethical and practical aspects of addressing drug-related issues through harsher penalties.
Today’s conservatives would do no harm revisiting the principles of our forefathers, who understood the agricultural value of hemp and embraced the ideals of personal liberty and small government. If conservative leaders are to uphold their commitment to these founding principles, they must reconcile their calls for individual freedom and limited government with their stance on drug policy at large. To do otherwise risks embodying the very hypocrisy they so often decry, leaving their platforms (and citizens) vulnerable to yet another hundred years of state-sponsored persecution.
