Trump Reviews Recommendation To Highlight Harms Of Marijuana And Other Drugs For Young People

The Trump administration is reviewing draft recommendations aimed at promoting young people’s health—including proposals to increase awareness about the impact of THC, vapes and the kratom-derived compound known as 7-OH.

The leaked draft document appears to be responsive to an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February establishing a “Make America Healthy Again Commission,” overseen by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Amid the myriad recommendations is one directing the U.S. surgeon general to “launch an education and awareness initiative on the impact of alcohol, controlled substances, vaping, and THC on children’s health.”

Additionally, it calls on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Make America Healthy Again Commission (ATF) to “increase enforcement on illegal Chinese manufactured vaping products, and educate parents and businesses that the Administration will not allow unapproved vaping products targeting children to continue flooding our country.”

It also addresses another timely issue related to kratom, requiring FDA to “educate the public regarding the dangers of synthetic opioids products such as 7-OH (which is distinct from natural kratom) and coordinate enforcement against dangerous unlawful products being marketed to American children.”

FDA has recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) schedule the compound under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA)—drawing criticism from kratom stakeholders who oppose the outright ban.

The draft report from HHS, which coordinated with multiple other agencies on the recommendations, has not been finalized. But The New York Times, which obtained the “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy” document from a former administration official, reported that it was set to be presented to Trump last week ahead of a key deadline, and that a final report is expected in the coming weeks.

This comes as the administration and Congress are looking at other key cannabis proposals, including the Biden administration-initiated plan to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the CSA.

That process has been stalled for months, but the president recently said that a decision would be made within weeks. Key influencers in the MAGA world have expressed mixed opinions about the reform, which would not legalize cannabis but would let state-licensed marijuana businesses take federal tax deductions and help address current research barriers for the Schedule I substance.

Lawmakers have also been focused on THC policy related to hemp, a crop that was federally legalized during Trump’s first term under the 2018 Farm Bill. A controversial proposal to ban hemp products containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC is currently being negotiated after being removed from a Senate agriculture spending bill.

For his part, Kennedy—who serves as chairman of the Make America Healthy Again Commission under the president’s executive order—was vocal about his support for marijuana legalization when he was running for president as a Democratic and then an independent, as well as during his time on the Trump transition team. But he’s been more muted on the issue since being confirmed.

During an interview in February, however, he said: “I hear stories all the time of the impacts of marijuana on people—and the really catastrophic impacts on them.”

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.