EXCLUSIVE: As President Donald Trump determines whether to pursue federal cannabis reform, he may also wield the power to determine the future of Mike Tyson's boxing career.
Tyson has been one of the most vocal advocates for the rescheduling of marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III - which is considered a far less dangerous category of substance. Trump told reporters Monday it's a decision he will determine in the next few weeks.
Tyson told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on June 30 - his 59th birthday - whether he fights again will depend on whether cannabis is legalized and rescheduled.
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"It depends on if cannabis ever becomes legal or not, and rescheduled," Tyson said when asked if it's possible that he would agree to another fight.
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.
"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 ultimately suggesting that 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 that Trump will take a new approach.
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"It was a let-down," 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 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.
Now Tyson believes that Trump himself would make good decisions for the country under the influence of marijuana.
"I truly believe that, yes," Tyson said.
Still, Tyson said he would never invite Trump to use marijuana with him.
"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.
In addition to rescheduling, clemency for nonviolent users is also a very personal priority for Tyson. Tyson said he has watched people get incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses since he was a child.
"I'm friends with those people. Those people come from my community," Tyson said.
Tyson recalled the first person he ever met who was incarcerated for such an offense.
"I know he did a lot of time. I know he went in there when I was a little kid. By the time he came out, I was boxing," Tyson said. "He was a friend of people in the neighborhood. Everybody in the neighborhood knew who he was. He wasn't really a friend that I hung out with or anything, but the whole neighborhood knew who he was… I never smoked with him."
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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