An official with the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy has assured that a pending White House cannabis policy panel report will be completed objectively, the Associated Press reports.
The news comes in response to an inquiry from Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D), who asked officials to explain the report in light of alarming headlines about a secret Trump committee that is dedicated to finding and broadcasting the most effective anti-cannabis rhetoric. According to Sen. Bennet, the White House drug office’s deputy director James Carroll told him that the committee’s report was rooted in scientific data.
Specifically, that committee — called the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee — has been tasked with gathering “data demonstrating the most significant negative trends” to be used in briefing President Trump on “marijuana threats.” The committee is comprised of 14 federal agencies plus the DEA.
“In Colorado, we’ve made a deliberate effort to ensure fact-based data informs our marijuana policies. Government-sponsored propaganda shouldn’t undermine that effort.” — Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), via the Associated Press
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump said he would leave cannabis issues up to individual states to decide. However, top officials in his administration — including Attorney General Jeff Sessions — have expressed interest in undermining cannabis policy reforms across the U.S.