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Vivek Ramaswamy, Presidential candidate, on Marijuana and Psychedelics

Vivek Ramaswamy, the leading GOP presidential candidate for 2024, is currently the sole major GOP presidential candidate who publicly supports . This includes not only legalizing marijuana, but also providing regulated access to some psychedelics with an emphasis on therapeutic use.

The 38-year old entrepreneur also has made some contradictory comments about his drug policies, appearing to backtrack on more bold calls for change and challenging the reporting of what specific proposals that he supports. While he is in favor of legalization he has also urged the expansion of the Drug Enforcement Administration. This raised eyebrows among the reform community.

Ramaswamy is a regular headline-grabber since he entered the race. This was especially true after the first Republican primary debate, where he gained national attention by aligning himself closely with the former president Donald Trump. He also grabbed the most speaking time even though a number of other candidates were present on the stage including former Vice President Mike Pence. Ron DeSantis (R). He has not raised the cannabis or psychedelics issue during debates. He has instead focused his drug policy rhetoric during the campaign on his plan to “annihilate”, Mexican cartels as a response to the fentanyl crises, using the U.S. Military.

Ramaswamy is up against Trump, DeSantis and Pence, the former New Jersey governor, for the GOP nomination. Chris Christie (R), U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former South Carolina governor. Nikki Haley, former South Dakota governor. Doug Burgum (R).


Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential candidate, on marijuana:

Legislation and Policy Actions

Ramaswamy is a former executive of the pharmaceutical industry who has never held elected office. He therefore does not have any legislative experience on drug policy.

On the Campaign Trail

Ramaswamy, who announced his candidacy for president in February 2023 has spoken on numerous occasions about his views and suggestions on drug policy. His platform is a mixture of seemingly contradictory positions.

Ramaswamy, on the other hand, has expressed support for federally legalizing cannabis, a position that sets him apart from the GOP candidates as well as the incumbent Democratic president Joe Biden who has firmly drawn a line between legalizing medical marijuana and decriminalizing recreational marijuana.

In August 2023, his campaign stated that Viek was in favor of federal marijuana legalization. The current state-level “legalization” farce is contributing to a culture of lawbreaking. It is literally against the law. “To pretend otherwise is to undermine the rule of law here in this country.”

He has previously spoken out about the need to decriminalize marijuana, despite the fact that this is “not a very popular position within the Republican Party.” However, he believes it’s vital to “speak truth” and “speak his mind.”

Ramaswamy also went further in the drug policy arena by accepting psychedelics and suggesting, at one stage, that drug decriminalization should eventually be expanded, calling it an “important” part of a comprehensive drug policy.

He said, “I support decriminalizing ayahuasca & ketamine to prevent the epidemic fentanyl & suicidal suicide for veterans who suffer from PTSD,” in a response to a Fox News piece that the candidate criticized due to the way it framed his decriminalization stance. He called the article, “more planted garbage.”

Ramaswamy, who claimed to be the victim of media smears, did not, however, specify which parts of the Fox Report were inaccurate. While his campaign clarified his position regarding marijuana, it didn’t address his comments about other drugs.

In a June 20, 23 interview, Ramaswamy described decriminalization repeatedly as “important” in a more comprehensive policy on drugs, highlighting his belief that tighter border protection and reduced U.S. drug demand are also important.

“I think in the long run–and I’m talking about over a long run period of time–decriminalization, serially, is an important part of the long-run solution here,” he said during the appearance at the Porcupine Freedom Festival (PorcFest) in New Hampshire.

Ramaswamy told the audience that he is skeptical about prohibition and “not someone who believes in a war on drugs.”

He also emphasized the availability of psychedelics for those who suffer from mental health issues.

“I am probably the only one in modern history of my party who is willing to have a discussion about it, at least for veterans.” Ramaswamy suggested that we start with PTSD. There is good evidence to support the use of psychedelics from ayahuasca up to ketamine. You could have a rational discussion about giving people off-ramps.

He said: “I know personally parents who have lost their children, and I have good reason to believe that they believed–and this is what my sources tell me–that the kids might have survived if there had been an alternative route.”

The candidate’s anti-drug policy narrative is questioned by the other side.

Ramaswamy is in favor of a militarized and extreme approach to the fentanyl crisis. He wants to send U.S. troops along the Southern border, to “annihilate”, Mexican cartels through a “shock and awe” campaign.

“I will send the U.S. Military to protect *our* border, not someone else’s. He said, “I will destroy the Mexican drug cartels. That’s the only way to end the fentanyl epidemic that kills more Americans than 9/11 every year.” “I will not be a passive buffoon in the White House, watching this happen. We’re going solve this problem.”

Ramaswamy also called for an increase in the staffing of DEA and increased funding. He suggested that the agency, which has been the government’s chief enforcer in the drug war, should have more resources to fight fentanyl.

During a speech on domestic policy in September 2023 he detailed a plan to fire approximately 75 percent of federal employees and close key agencies. However, the DEA would not be affected, while FBI agents would be transferred to the drug agency.

Ramaswamy stated that the DEA needs to be given more resources to “take on the drug enforcement issues that we face in this country”. However, if federal prohibitions of marijuana and psychedelics are not lifted first, it could lead to increased enforcement of laws that Ramaswamy wants to amend.

During an interview on “Club Random with Bill Maher” in August 2023, Ramaswamy previewed the plan to slash the federal workforce–especially FBI–and build up DEA, which he described as “far more effective on the frontlines of the fentanyl epidemic.” The proposal drew a skeptical reaction from Maher, who has also long decried the failures of the drug war.

Why not get rid that agency? Maher replied, “The DEA.”

Ramaswamy responded, “We have laws here in the country.” You can debate the laws you want, but as long as they are in place, I say, it’s not about whether or not you like them. “My point is that the FBI is ineffective.”

The candidate said that the state-federal debate on marijuana is “a farce”, which allows governments to target people unfairly.

He said, “I believe we should align federal law with state law.”

The candidate’s support for policy reform comes with a stigmatizing view of cannabis use. In May 2023, the candidate stated that the federal government should no longer “pay people to sit at home, watch TV all day, smoke pot and be depressed.”

This is a talking-point that reinforces the stereotype, which has been debunked and is increasingly outdated, that marijuana use inherently equates to laziness.

In June 2023 Ramaswamy criticized also a harm-reduction policy in a Pennsylvanian city that was designed to reduce the opioid overdose crisis.

He claimed that China was supplying Mexican drug cartels ingredients for the production of fentanyl-laced goods, including “CBD Gummies”, in May 2023. This claim is supported by a questionable expert source.

Ramaswamy reaffirmed his claim that CBD gummies were laced with fentanyl after a questioner asked what he’d do in the drug war at home.

“I am also in favor of addressing the issue of demand and I will roll out policies to do so later. You’ll likely like them.” “But my point is that *fentanyl poisoning* is the true problem,” he said. “Lacing gums with fentanyl comes closer to bioterrorism rather than ‘drug abuse. ‘”

Previous Quotes and Social Media Posts

Ramaswamy is a former pharmaceutical executive and entrepreneur. However, his comments on marijuana and psychedelics are only now coming to light.

In June 2022 he criticized companies who announced plans to offer financial assistance to workers to access abortion services in jurisdictions where such services were criminalized after a Supreme Court decision that overruled decades-old protections. In his criticism, the president drew an analogy to the idea of providing financial support to workers to access abortion services in legal areas, even if the state is prohibitionist.

Medical marijuana is legal only in certain states. He said it would be interesting to watch if companies started paying to travel across state borders to get to the drug.

Marijuana: My Personal Experience

In August 2023, Ramaswamy said that he does not smoke or drink alcohol. He added, “I don’t have many vices.”

Marijuana Under A Ramaswamy Presidency

Ramaswamy said that he will legalize marijuana on a federal level, a position which distinguishes him among the other GOP candidates in the race.

Another notable distinction in drug policy is his support for psychedelics, especially for therapeutic purposes, and for vulnerable groups like veterans with PTSD.

Ramaswamy’s platform makes it reasonable to assume that he could be an ally of the reform movement, if he were elected president. While he has commented on his bold plans, he also spends considerable time highlighting the proposals he made to use the military in order to combat fentanyl and expand DEA. These positions would give pause to a skeptic of the drug war, which he describes himself to be.

It’s not clear what issues in drug policy the candidate will prioritize if he is elected to the White House.


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The first time Marijuana Moment published the post Vivek Ramaswamy’s Position on Marijuana and Psychedelics.

Kyle Jaeger
Author: Kyle Jaeger

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