The coalition that powered Donald Trump back to the White House in 2024 was made up of many factions, and since his election the differences between them have only become more apparent. One of those fault lines runs between podcasters and pastors.
The very online, anti-establishment voices who loudly boarded the MAGA train in 2024—and some deep-pocketed donors from the marijuana industry—have been encouraging the White House to reschedule marijuana at the federal level. This would essentially make it as accessible as anabolic steroids, ketamine, and other legal but controlled supplements, allowing firms to more efficiently market and profit from marijuana sales. If you have recently walked through a major American city and thought, “What would really make this city more livable is if the smell of marijuana were twice as strong,” this is the policy for you.
A laxer approach to weed has been pushed by Dave Portnoy, Matt Gaetz, and various X personalities, some of whom have had their pro-marijuana content sponsored by the industry. On the other side are social and religious conservatives, who have long tended to oppose drug legalization. And while the Trump administration weighs the merits of giving marijuana a federal imprimatur, Congress recently sided with social conservatives—and with common sense. Who dreams of having a child who grows up to be a pothead?