Following the passage of Congressional amendments limiting the Justice Department from taking prosecutorial actions against those in legal marijuana states, Former President Trump consistently issued signing statements indicating that he believed that he had the power to disregard these amendments because he believed them to be unconstitutional. (Source)

Regarding Florida's 2024 Amendment 3, Trump said, "someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States.” (8/31/24)

Vance was among the nine members of the Senate Banking Committee who voted in the minority against the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act in September 2023. That bill is still pending floor action, and Democratic leadership has repeatedly described it as a priority without advancing it further, but Vance said he opposed it in part because he believes it would inadvertently make it easier for illicit operators to traffic other drugs such as fentanyl. Asked about his opposition to the legislation in April 2024, the senator argued that it “was crafted in such a way that actually would have opened up access to banking resources for fentanyl traffickers and others.” There’s no clear evidence that that’s the case, but Vance has more generally discussed his concerns with the fentanyl trade on several occasions. (7/15/24)

During a campaign event with the Milwaukee Police Association in Wisconsin, Vance said he spoke to a police officer who told him that "we’ve got fentanyl in our marijuana bags that our teenagers are using," echoing a claim about laced cannabis that’s been routinely contested by advocates and certain state regulators: "Look, I’m the parent of three young kids… A seven-year-old, a four-year-old and a two-year-old. We don’t have to worry about this yet, but I’m certain—because kids are kids—that one day, one of my kids is going to take something or do something that I don’t want them to take. But I don’t want that mistake to ruin their life. I want them to learn from it. I want their parents to be able to punish them. I don’t want our kids to make mistakes on American streets and have it take their lives away from them," he said, suggesting that he recognizes when his children grow up they may experiment with certain substances such as marijuana, but he’s more concerned with potentially lethal contamination. (8/16/24)

Representative Donald Bacon has had a mixed record regarding marijuana legislation. He has publicly stated that he does not believe the plant should be legalized personally, but voted in favor of and co-sponsored the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, a progressive piece of ancillary legislation. While not a pioneer for reform, Rep. Bacon is not an active opponent.