A GOP senator is suggesting that President Donald Trump lied when he said during a signing ceremony for a marijuana rescheduling executive order this week that he hadn’t received any calls in opposition to the reform.
During Thursday’s event, Trump noted strong public support for marijuana reform and said numerous people called him to voice support for cannabis rescheduling.
“I don’t think I received any calls on the other side of it,” he said.
That comment didn’t sit right with Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), who says he in fact called the president to express his opposition to rescheduling marijuana just days ago.
“I called him personally Friday last week and let him know,” the senator told Punchbowl News.
Budd said he is also aware that other lawmakers had called Trump to urge him not to enact the federal reclassification of marijuana.
“I was aware of people calling him then—against rescheduling,” he said. “So I knew that my colleagues had been calling him.”
Earlier this week, Budd led a group of GOP senators in sending a letter urging Trump not to reschedule cannabis. House Republican lawmakers also sent a separate letter to the president on the issue.
Trump, however, dismissed those concerns during Thursday’s signing ceremony—pointing out that an overwhelming majority of Americans support the reform and that cannabis can help people who are suffering from serious health issues, including his personal friends.
Republican state attorneys general are also expressing concerns about Trump’s marijuana move.
The executive order Trump signed directs the attorney general to complete a process to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which would let cannabis businesses take federal tax deductions and lift certain research barriers.
Photo courtesy of Max Pixel.
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