Trump pick of Gaetz spurs debate, but marijuana industry smells opportunity

President-elect Donald Trump's unexpected pick of Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida as U.S. attorney general angered Democrats and even some Republicans.

Gaetz resigned from his seat soon after the Wednesday announcement — and days before the House Ethics Committee was going to decide whether to release a report on its investigation of him about allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and more, which Gaetz has adamantly denied.

It's unclear whether the Senate will confirm his nomination. But the marijuana community has been blazing with excitement.

“Rep. Matt Gaetz is one of the most pro-cannabis Republicans on Capitol Hill," said David Culver, senior vice president of public affairs at U.S. Cannabis Council, in a statement. 

"By tapping him to serve as the nation's top law enforcement officer, President-elect Trump is signaling his commitment to make good on his campaign promises around cannabis reform."

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While Gaetz was against Amendment 3, which would have allowed recreational marijuana in Florida but didn't get the required 60% approval in the general election, he has long called for changing weed laws both in his home state and nationally.

Gaetz, formerly a state representative, sponsored the first legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Florida and continued calling for reforms when elected to Congress in 2016.

He's proposed a measure to end cannabis testing in the military, and he was the sole Republican co-sponsor of the MORE Act, which would have removed marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and expunged some marijuana-related criminal records if it had made it through the Senate.

Before the Gaetz pick, there were already hopes that the Trump administration would be favorable to the marijuana industry.

While Trump hasn't endorsed federal legalization, he did support Amendment 3. He's also signaled that he would work with Congress on opening the banking system to marijuana companies and continue the Biden administration's efforts to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug with no medical value on par with heroin, to a Schedule III drug on par with ketamine and anabolic steroids.

“We’ve said from the outset that the cannabis community has good reason to be optimistic about a second Trump administration," Culver continued in his Wednesday statement. "Today's Attorney General announcement, along with other recent staffing moves, gives us hope for the next phase of federal cannabis reform, including passing the SAFE Banking Act and finalizing the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III.”

Culver added that he "anticipated" Gaetz would issue updated guidance on how federal prosecutors can enforce drug laws without interfering with states' marijuana markets.

As NBC News national politics reporter Matt Dixon noted – tongue in cheek – on X, "Weed Twitter and the rest of Twitter are two vastly different places on the Gaetz pick."

Marijuana-focused POLITICO reporter Natalie Fertig wrote, "I cannot understate how big this is for the weed world."

Since the announcement, Boris Jordan, chairman and CEO of marijuana giant Curaleaf, has posted two videos of Gaetz talking about weed regulations: "Maybe I should serve as attorney general of the United States. I'd be easy on marijuana and tough on big tech," Gaetz said in the first one.

In the second video, Gaetz questioned why the Biden administration hadn't already removed marijuana as a Schedule I drug.

Minnesota NORML, a marijuana advocacy group, wrote that the product should be delisted from the Controlled Substances Act just like alcohol: "AG Matt Gaetz, please make it happen!" it wrote.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. On X: @DouglasSoule.