Understanding Matt Gaetz's Stances on Crypto and Cannabis
I think everyone agrees that Matt Gaetz is a bit of an out-of-the-box nominee for United States Attorney General. Without weighing in on the more controversial aspects of Gaetz's House career (not to mention his personal life), and his rather untraditional resume for his nomination as America’s top cop (we’ll let others opine on that), we believe that, if confirmed, he's likely to have a significant impact on two issues near and dear to the hearts of many Americans - crypto and cannabis. [This is not meant to imply an endorsement of Gaetz for this position]. Below are some of his prior positions:
Attorney General Nominee Matt Gaetz: Crypto Policy
Gaetz is decidedly “pro-crypto” and represents a win for the Super PACs that helped elected Trump President.
Crypto Tax Policies
Earlier this year, on]Gaetz introduced a bill that would allow federal income tax to be paid with Bitcoin, the first such bill of its kind (just wait till the pay with Dogecoin bill comes). Gaetz’s legislation, if enacted, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with language ordering the Treasury secretary to develop a plan for accepting the popular decentralized digital currency. As Gaetz explained, “by enabling taxpayers to use Bitcoin for federal tax payments, we can promote innovation, increase efficiency, and offer more flexibility to American citizens.”
Crypto As a Payment Mechanism
Gaetz has not been shy about supporting those who have made Bitcoin an official payment mechanism for their countries. Recently, Gaetz traveled to El Salvador to attend the second inauguration of controversial President Nayib Bukele, a strong-man who made “buying the dip” El Salvador’s official national economic policy. In 2021, Bukele led his country to become the first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, and it appears his Bitcoin bet may have paid off, at least for now. Gaetz is a co-founder of Congress’ “El Salvador” caucus, which has urged the State Department to drop travel advisory warnings to the country, which has become remarkably safer over the past few years.
Gaetz's Congressional Votes
Gaetz has been pro-crypto in his votes on various pieces of legislation proposed by Congress. As examples
Financial Innovation and Transparency Act (FIT21)
As set forth on the “Stand with Crypto” page, Gaetz voted yes on FIT21, which “is a comprehensive market structure bill that will protect consumers, promote national security, ensure crypto companies have robust rules, create clarity for job creators and blockchain builders, and the next generation of the Internet develops here.” FIT21 allegedly “creates consistent consumer protection requirements,” delegates supervisory authority to the CFTC, “modernizes” (read: takes away) SEC authority, and “creates pathways for “innovation.”
SAB 21 House Joint Resolution
Gaetz voted “yes” on SAB21. This Resolution aimed to overturn the SEC's Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121). SAB 121 is effectively an SEC position statement providing interpretive guidance for entities to consider when they have obligations to safeguard crypto-assets held for their platform users. Many banking groups considered it to be “regulatory overeach.”
Gaetz sponsors bill allowing Americans to pay income tax with Bitcoin.
Attorney General Nominee Matt Gaetz: Pro-Cannabis Views
As Law360 writes:
"Rep. Matt Gaetz is one of the most pro-cannabis Republicans on Capitol Hill. 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," David Culver, senior vice president of public affairs for cannabis business lobby U.S. Cannabis Council, said on Wednesday.
While perhaps Gaetz is not going to win the hearts and minds of Democrats, he strongly agreed with the extremely sensible DOJ recommendation from earlier this year that marijuana, a Schedule I drug, be placed in Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The DOJ recommendation followed a review by federal health regulators that concluded that marijuana had a "currently accepted medical use," and was less dangerous than other drugs in the Schedule I and II tiers.
Gaetz also was the only Republican sponsor of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act.), which would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level. The MORE Act would:
Legalize marijuana federally by removing marijuana (cannabis) and THC from the Controlled Substances Act and directing expungement of related convictions
Prohibit the denial of federal benefits based on a would-be recipient's "use or possession of cannabis, or on the basis of a conviction or adjudication of juvenile delinquency for a cannabis offense". Specifically, it would prohibit the denial of any federal benefits, such as welfare, unemployment, and food assistance—or any “benefit or protection under the immigration laws”. The bill would also bar certain federally-funded programs from declining to provide services or financial assistance to an otherwise eligible small business because the business operates in the cannabis industry.
Create cannabis tax and grant programs funded by a 5% tax on cannabis products (excluding prescription medications derived from cannabis).
Direct the Bureau of Labor Statistics to gather demographic data about cannabis business owners and employees
Although the MORE Act died in the Senate (as most bills do), as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Gaetz supported the restorative justice components of the MORE Act because, as he explained, drug prohibition had been inequitably enforced across different parts of the country.
"We cannot honestly say the War on Drugs impacted suburban white communities the same way it did urban Black communities," he said at the time.
Sounds a lot like Bernie Sanders to us.
Gaetz’s support is not surprising. Back in 2014, he helped sponsor the first medical marijuana law passed by the Florida Legislature, which permitted the use of a noneuphoric, low-THC cannabis to treat conditions such as epilepsy. He has said that the legislation “had lots of flaws” that required legislators to make changes to the law over the years.
“I think when you ensconce abortion policy or marijuana policy in the constitution you limit the ability to appropriately tailor policy to evolving circumstances and evolving technologies,” Gaetz said.
Its not all roses for the legalize marijuana crowd with Gaetz, however, Recently, he voiced opposition to a ballot initiative that would have legalized adult-use recreational cannabis via a constitutional amendment in his home state of Florida. But he explained his opposition as follows:
"Regardless of how someone feels about abortion or marijuana, I don't believe that those issues should be resolved in the state constitution," he told reporters in August.
In short, Gaetz promises to be one of the most pro-cannabis Attorney Generals ever nominated and confirmed (if he gets there).
