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Boxing legend Mike Tyson was one of the first star athletes to celebrate President Donald Trump’s executive order addressing cannabis reform Thursday.
Trump’s order reclassified marijuana as a less dangerous drug, which would ease restrictions so it’s easier to purchase and sell and pave the way for more research on marijuana’s medical benefits.
Marijuana previously was labeled a Schedule I drug under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations, the same category the agency uses for heroin, ecstasy and LSD.
Under the new Schedule III classification, marijuana is now in a category alongside drugs like Tylenol containing codeine and anabolic steroids the agency claims have a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
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Tyson suggested the change could help employment numbers by allowing existing jobs to be counted.
“Thank you [President Trump] for rescheduling cannabis. This decision reflects listening to people across the country and taking a practical step toward modernizing outdated policies. It supports American workers, families, and businesses, and allows over 500,000 existing jobs to finally be counted,” Tyson wrote on X.
Tyson added that he hopes further measures are taken to grant clemency to certain people who have been convicted of nonviolent marijuana use in the past.
“Clemency and federal legalization are the next important steps. Americans across the political spectrum agree that no one should remain incarcerated for non-violent marijuana offenses,” Tyson wrote.
Tyson, 59, previously told Fox News Digital in an exclusive June 30 interview that whether he fights again would depend on federal marijuana rescheduling.
“It depends on if cannabis ever becomes legal or not and rescheduled,” Tyson said.
Tyson said he agreed to his last fight vs. YouTuber Jake Paul while under the influence of marijuana and wouldn’t have agreed to the fight if he was sober.
MIKE TYSON REVEALS THE BACKSTORY BEHIND HIS MARIJUANA REFORM CRUSADE
Mike Tyson, left, slaps Jake Paul as they face off during their ceremonial weigh-in at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory Nov. 14, 2024, in Irving, Texas. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
“I don’t really believe so. No, I wouldn’t have did that,” Tyson said when asked about the fight. “Because, without cannabis, I’m getting too involved in my feelings. With cannabis, I’m very objective.”
He added that it “wouldn’t take much” [cannabis] for him to agree to another fight, before suggesting it depends on the rescheduling of the plant.
Tyson led a coalition of current and former athletes, including Kevin Durant, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown, who signed a letter to the White House in late June, lobbying for federal cannabis reform. The letter called for the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, clemency for “nonviolent” marijuana offenses and ending “discriminatory banking practices” related to financial regulations of the cannabis industry.
Tyson told Fox News Digital in the June 30 interview that rescheduling was the “most important” goal in his letter. He added that he was “let down” by how former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden handled federal marijuana reform but is hopeful Trump will take a new approach.
“It was a letdown,” Tyson said of Obama and Biden’s handling. “We have a different president now, so we’re talking to him. So, it seems a lot different to talk to President Trump than it did with the other guys.”
Tyson has a long-running friendship with Trump that dates back to the 1980s during the earlier years of Tyson’s boxing career and Trump’s rise as a celebrity New York City real estate developer.
Still, Tyson said he would never invite Trump to use marijuana with him.
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Donald Trump and Mike Tyson attend a March of Dimes dinner in November 1989 in New York City. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)
“No way. No, he doesn’t smoke. He doesn’t believe in anything that can enhance the motor skills of your brain. And I respect that,” Tyson said.
A recent study by researchers at UC San Francisco determined that eating edible cannabis, such as gummies, has the same cardiovascular risk as smoking marijuana for long-term users. The risk stems from reduced blood vessel function, according to the study, published in JAMA Cardiology May 28.
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