Boxing legend Mike Tyson is leading a group of high-profile athletes and entertainers in calling on President Donald Trump to implement federal cannabis policy changes, according to a letter sent to the White House in late June.
The “Coalition of Athletes and Entertainers Supporting President Trump’s Policy Objectives” includes NBA star Kevin Durant, former NBA star Allen Iverson, former boxer Roy Jones Jr., former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant, and former NFL players Antonio Brown and Ricky Williams, according to Fox News reports.
“Cannabis is in the same category as heroin. How do you categorize it with heroin? Anybody that would smoke cannabis knows there’s no comparison, and that’s just ridiculous,” Tyson said during a June 30 appearance on Fox & Friends, according to the network.
Tyson also appeared on Newsmax’s “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” on Monday, where he argued, “People are going to consume anyway, so why not consume safely?” according to a Newsmax social media post.
The coalition seeks presidential pardons for people serving sentences for nonviolent marijuana offenses and wants cannabis moved from Schedule I to Schedule III classification, according to the letter obtained by Fox News. The group criticized former President Joe Biden for denying “nearly every pending marijuana-related clemency application” in his final acts.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Tyson discussed his personal cannabis use, saying “Some of us can’t live, can’t function without it,” according to the news outlet. The former heavyweight champion said he would be “less successful as a human being” and likely imprisoned without cannabis, according to the outlet.
Tyson also disclosed that his cannabis use played a significant role in his November 2024 exhibition fight against YouTuber Jake Paul. According to Fox News Digital, Tyson admitted he was “heavily under the influence of marijuana” when he agreed to the match and said he doesn’t believe he would have agreed to fight Paul if he was sober.
Music producer Weldon Angelos, who was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 2004 for marijuana charges before being released in 2016 and pardoned by Trump in 2020, also joined the coalition effort, according to Fox News.
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