A key Senate committee has given initial approval to President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as White House drug czar, where she will play a central role in implementing the administration’s drug policy agenda that touches on everything from marijuana and psychedelics to harm reduction and overdose prevention.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Sara Carter Bailey to join the administration as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Bailey has voiced support for medical cannabis, while stating that she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.
A former journalist known for her coverage of drug cartels, Bailey also recently advised senators that the administration is keeping “all options” on the table as it continues to consider a pending marijuana rescheduling proposal, while describing cannabis reform as a “bipartisan issue.”
The committee voted 12-10 to advance her nomination to the Senate floor.
Ahead of the vote, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the panel’s ranking member, called Bailey a Trump “loyalist” who was “nominated for a position for which she is totally, wholly unqualified.”
“She is not a physician or addiction specialist,” he said. “She has never been a prosecutor nor a law enforcement official.”
Given the role of the ONDCP director in setting and carrying out the administrative agenda on drug policy issues, the fact that Bailey has gone on the record enthusiastically endorsing medical cannabis in the past is welcome news for advocates.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) separately raised the issue of cannabis rescheduling with the nominee last month, stating that the proposal to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) would represents a “step in the right direction.”
“It would open up the door to more scientific study, and so I’m wondering if you were confirmed, how would you advise the American president about the ongoing rescheduling process?” he asked.
Bailey said she shares Booker’s passion for the issue, which she characterized as “bipartisan.”
“If confirmed as director, I will comply with all federal laws and fulfill all statutory responsibilities of the ONDCP,” she said. “However, we will continue to work extensively with research and data. We will continue to do that and explore all options.”
Trump endorsed rescheduling—as well as marijuana industry banking access and a Florida legalization ballot initiative–on the campaign trail ahead of his second term. But his most recent comments in late August about the timeline for a rescheduling decision gave a more ambiguous impression of his position on the issue.
While Bailey has spoken often about various marijuana policy issues—focusing attention on illicit trafficking and illegal grow operations on U.S. land, for example—her public comments on how she personally feels about the topic have been limited. What she did say last year in an episode of her podcast, The Sara Carter Show, signaled that she draws a distinction between legally regulated and illicitly supplied marijuana.
“I don’t have any problem if it’s legalized and it’s monitored,” she said. “I mean, I may have my own issues of how I feel about that, but I do believe that cannabis for medicinal purposes and medical reasons is a fantastic way of handling—especially for people with cancer and other illnesses, you know—of handling the illness and the side effects of the medication and those illnesses. So I’m not saying we’ve gotta make it illegal.”
If Bailey is ultimately confirmed by the Senate, she will become the second drug czar in a row who has voiced support for medical marijuana, following former President Joe Biden’s ONDCP director Rahul Gupta, who worked as a consultant for a cannabis businesses and also oversaw implementation of West Virginia’s medical marijuana program.
On her social media, Bailey has previously shared links—without commentary—to news stories about a variety of marijuana-related issues. In addition to her focus on illicit cartel grows, she’s also posted about congressional and state-level legalization votes, staffers in the Biden administration being fired over past cannabis use, Democratic presidential candidates’ support for legalization, the advancement of cannabis banking legislation in Congress and state policy developments such as Alaska’s legalization of cannabis cafes.
Federal statute dictates the drug czar is prohibited from endorsing the legalization of Schedule I drugs in the CSA, including marijuana.
“The Director…shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 812 of this title and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that— (A) is listed in schedule I of section 812 of this title; and (B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration.”
In April, however, Democratic congressional lawmakers announced the filing of a bill that would remove that restriction. It has not yet advanced in the GOP-controlled Congress.
Bailey has separately sounded the alarm about the risk of pesticides and other contaminants in marijuana grown and sold by Chinese cartels—an issue that was recently taken up by a House committee.
Last year, the nominee talked about the issue with Derek Maltz, a then-retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official who is temporarily served as acting administrator of the agency prior to the confirmation of Trump’s permanent pick, Terrance Cole.
In an X post about the interview with Maltz, Bailey said he exposed how “Chinese marijuana grow operations are using hazardous chemicals as pesticides.”
In 2022, U.S. Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) applauded Bailey, who worked with his office to bring attention to illicit grow operations in his district, leading to a local law enforcement investigation.
Bailey gave the congressman credit, saying “your work in taking down the illegal marijuana grows has stopped cartels from exploiting your community, those people forced to work on them and the [money].”
In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity in 2021, she also talked about her work with Garcia—including accompanying him on a helicopter to survey “miles and miles and miles of vast, sophisticated illegal grows worth tens of millions of dollars.”
Cartels have “become extremely more brazen. They’re not afraid of hiding it,” she said. “They don’t hide it because they don’t feel that they’ll ever be held accountable for it.”
In a sense, Bailey has seemed to implicitly suggest at multiple times that she supports regulated access to cannabis as a means of promoting public safety and health. Whether and how that implied position would influence federal policy if she’s confirmed and assumes the ONDCP director role is yet to be seen.
On her social media, she’s previously shared links—without commentary—to news stories about a variety of marijuana-related issues. In addition to her focus on illicit cartel grows, she’s also posted about congressional and state-level legalization votes, staffers in the Biden administration being fired over past cannabis use, Democratic presidential candidates’ support for legalization, the advancement of cannabis banking legislation in Congress and state policy developments such as Alaska’s legalization of cannabis cafes.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
The post Senators Advance Trump Pick For White House Drug Czar Who’s Voiced Support For Medical Marijuana But Declined To Endorse Rescheduling appeared first on Marijuana Moment.
