Trump's Appointment Of Kristi Noem To Homeland Security Chief Raises Questions About Fed Cannabis Policy

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to serve as secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

While the role is yet to be confirmed by the Senate, Noem is expected to oversee Trump’s border policies, including the key campaign pledge of “mass deportations.” She will work alongside Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, reported ABC News.

Noem, known for being cautious around cannabis policy change, will also oversee U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest federal law enforcement agency of Homeland Security, which has often made headlines for marijuana seizures.

According to an earlier report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published in mid-2022, three-quarters of U.S. Border Patrol drug seizures were exclusively for marijuana.

The analysis of Border Patrol data, from 2016 through 2020, showed that officers pulled in roughly 35,700 potentially removable people as part of 17,500 events at checkpoints. Half of all marijuana seizures or 8,098 of 16,315 included "personal use quantity of marijuana and no other drugs."

Interestingly, the 1,954-mile US-Mexico border has shown a somewhat expected trend, given the increased legality of cannabis in the U.S.

"There has been a shakeup in one of the U.S. and Mexican border's previously-biggest talking points: marijuana trafficking," The Fresh Toast's Tom Gaffey wrote in 2022. "Only a decade ago, Mexico was smuggling a significant amount of the marijuana consumed by Americans, according to the DEA. Now it appears as though marijuana smuggling into the United States is decreasing, while Mexico is seeing an increase of American-made pot entering its side of the border."

Read Also: Lawsuit Against The Feds Could Set Precedent On State Rights: New Mexico Marijuana Firms Move To Stop Seizures

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Where Does Noem Stand On Cannabis?

South Dakotans rejected Measure 29 in last week’s elections. The measure sought to allow individuals aged 21 and older to possess limited amounts of recreational, cannabis and cultivate plants at home.

This was South Dakota’s the third attempt to legalize cannabis following failed attempts in 2020, when Amendment A was passed by 54% of voters but was later overturned by the state Supreme Court, and in 2022.

It was Noem who challenged the 2020 ballot measure, saying the measure was unconstitutional. Advocates criticized her for overturning the will of the people as 54% of voters backed it at the time. In 2022, Noem said that if she’d allowed for the marijuana amendment to become law in 2020, it would create a precedent for not allowing the challenge of other amendments that may also be unconstitutional.

“I raised my right hand and said that I would uphold the state Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. The basis of every decision comes from that,” Noem said.

As for medical cannabis use in South Dakota, it was legalized in July 2021, via a ballot initiative on Nov. 3, 2020. Noem had no objection to this change in the state law.

Over the years she signed into law a myriad of bills aimed at polishing up the state's medical cannabis program.

The question remains how will Noem's new tenure influence her approach to federal cannabis enforcement, especially as state-level legalization continues to expand.

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