VP Kamala Harris, the best Presidential candidate we’ve ever had on the marijuana issue, has taken her time about it but finally made her pitch to marijuana legalizers. Her record on cannabis is pretty straightforward, showing her evolution from medical use only to full legalization after winning California’s US Senate seat. However, true to form, many disinformation outlets are lying about her record: Part of the “she’s too soft on crime and yet she’s too hard on crime” narrative.
After her Oct. 14 announcement, there should be little confusion: Legalization, equity and social justice are three parts of Harris’ cannabis policy agenda.
According to a report at TheLeafOnline.com, at a March 2024 White House roundtable discussion on criminal justice and cannabis drug policy, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “We need to legalize marijuana,” that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed,” and that “what we need to do is recognize that far too many people have been sent to jail for simple marijuana possession.”
The old guy promises more of the same
In September, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump posted on Truth [sic.] Social, “As president, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws.” While his comment echoes and continues President Joe Biden’s ongoing effort to get the DEA to reschedule cannabis, it would not significantly reduce arrests, rescheduling merely reduces the penalties, reduces tax liability and could put cannabis under the control of the pharmaceutical industry. Worse yet, more of the same would not change Trump’s position against adult use legalization and support for the death penalty for anyone who sells cannabis.
Now as the Democratic Party nominee for President, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, laid out their “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” in some detail on Oct. 14. The five-part Harris Plan includes federal cannabis legalization to open up opportunities for “Black men and their families.”
Two paths: Legislation or decontrol
Asking people to vote for Democrats on Nov. 5, the Harris-Walz ticket pledged to legalize cannabis, to “break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back,” and to create opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in a new federal cannabis industry.
Congress could pass a bill for Harris to sign, the strongest way to change the law. Using the powers already invested in the DEA by Congress, however, President Harris would not need a new law. She can simply appoint a DEA director expressly to decontrol cannabis, i.e., remove marihuana from the federal Controlled Substances List, thereby returning cannabis to state law.
Due to various UN commitments, the US would also have to take one of several steps to comply with the international treaties, such as delegating compliance to the states or, better, to resign from the treaty, then sign it again without banning cannabis (which could be done as part of a coalition with Uruguay, Canada, Germany, Malta, Mexico and other nations).
VP Kamala Harris, the best Presidential candidate we’ve ever had on the marijuana issue, has taken her time about it but finally made her pitch to marijuana legalizers. Her record on cannabis is pretty straightforward, showing her evolution from… Read More