Pro-Pot Policies Won’t Help Trump Win This Election |

During a recent press conference, former President Donald Trump was asked if he supported Vice President Kamala Harris’s previous statements in support of legalizing marijuana. Trump responded, “But now that we’re legalizing it nationwide — whether that’s good or bad — it’s terribly difficult to get people … who are in prison right now for something that’s legal.”

His “good or bad” question has only one answer: It is a very bad thing that states are violating federal law by legalizing marijuana and high-THC products.

First, let’s be clear: Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are correct that no one should be in jail for carrying a joint. In fact, virtually no one is in jail. President Joe Biden’s executive orders pardoning certain marijuana possession offenses notably resulted in no one being released from federal prisons at all. Law enforcement has long since stopped focusing on low-level possession cases. Biden’s announcement was purely political theater.

The fact that Trump appears to be so ambivalent about legalizing marijuana should concern parents, medical professionals, law enforcement and educators. (RELATED: Weed lobby increases spending to prepare for major legislation as studies show drugs can cause major health problems)

If he cares about public health and the politics of the issue, Trump should oppose drug legalization. In an election cycle where both parties are focused on immigration and border policy, crime and public safety, and protecting American families, it makes no sense to support drug legalization.

This should be especially true for a president who understands how drug abuse destroys lives. Although he rarely talks about it, Trump doesn’t drink alcohol because he watched his brother Fred die at age 42 after a long battle with alcoholism.

Trump cannot ignore the fact that states that legalize marijuana have unleashed El Chapo 2.0. With a raging border crisis, states that have legalized marijuana have created a windfall for Chinese, Mexican and other foreign cartels to set up shop in America. These new drug syndicates are making their mark in California, Colorado and Maine — and in suburban communities, where they’ve gutted homes and converted them into illegal grow operations.

Law enforcement does not have the resources or time to even begin to crack down on fentanyl dealers, let alone these extremely dangerous organized criminal operations. The Oregon Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, a coalition of law enforcement agencies, reported that transnational criminal organizations “with ties to China have increased their presence in large-scale marijuana cultivation and export.” This is also happening in Oklahoma and California.

Trump shouldn’t be surprised that normalizing drug use leads to more drug use, more addiction, and worse public health outcomes.

Marijuana has become a gateway drug in more ways than one. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently testified before Congress that Chinese cartels trafficking fentanyl are using legal marijuana businesses as a front to launder illicit profits.

States thought they could legalize marijuana and create a windfall of tax revenue that would destroy the illegal drug market. Instead, states have invited more fentanyl, meth, and other drugs, which cartels profit from seamlessly under the guise of state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. A presidential campaign cannot successfully implement solutions to an unsecured border and illegal immigration without addressing the pitfalls of marijuana legalization.

With increasing cartel activity comes a raging illegal market for marijuana and a huge increase in crime. More than 80 percent of the marijuana sold and consumed in California is through the illegal market — not the legal one. The same scenario is playing out in Oregon and many other states that have legalized marijuana and THC-laced drugs under the guise that “regulation” would get rid of drug dealers.

Instead, the states made the dealers richer and created an entirely new class of pot barons who profited at the expense of America’s youth, minorities and their families.

Americans want a president who will prioritize public health and safety. A shift toward legalizing marijuana goes against both of those goals. (RELATED: Vulnerable Democratic Senator Changes Stance on Marijuana Legalization After Soliciting Donations from Cannabis Executives, Lobbyists)

States that have legalized marijuana have seen exponential increases in crime. In Colorado, neighborhoods where pot shops are allowed saw a whopping 1,400% increase in crime; and in Oregon, they found significant increases in property crime, burglaries, and auto thefts. A survey of Illinois law enforcement found that one in four departments said marijuana was the biggest contributor to violent crime and one of their top three drug threats in their areas of responsibility.

Beyond these statistics, Trump can’t ignore the science here. Today’s ultra-potent THC-laced drugs are nothing like the weed of a decade ago, and these dangerous drugs have been linked to psychosis, depression, suicidality, IQ decline in young people, and violence. A recent study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse correlated violent behavior with heavy marijuana use.

Other studies have shown that these products are linked to a five-fold increase in the risk of developing schizophrenia or psychosis.

Legalize marijuana and the border, crime, antitrust, and mental health crises will all get worse. Yes, President Trump, legalizing marijuana is a very bad trend. Don’t support it. More drugs do not make America great.

Luke Niforatos is executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation’s leading advocacy group for health-oriented marijuana policy.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.