Kamala Harris has had an evolving place in terms of hashish regulation and reform over time. In her time as Vice President of america, she supported actions like reclassifying marijuana and pardoning federally convicted Individuals for marijuana possession.
And, her stance has seemed to be an increasing number of progressive as she has climbed the federal workplace ranks.
Nonetheless, Harris wasn’t at all times so lenient and confirmed blended assist when it got here to cannabis-related legal guidelines and upholding them — particularly throughout her time as a California Legal professional Normal.
The Harris Historical past of Hashish Legislation
Again when Kamala Harris was California’s Legal professional Normal from 2011-2017, she was on the opposite facet of hashish regulation reform, prosecuting cannabis-related crimes.
She helped convict over 1,900 Individuals for cannabis-related violations, however different prosecutors on her workers did have the next conviction price when it got here to those expenses beneath her predecessor. Notably, many of those defendants weren’t arrested for low-level cannabis-related possessions both.
There have been extra blended views on hashish regulation throughout her time as District Legal professional since she opposed the 2010 measure to legalize marijuana in California, encouraging voters to reject the leisure use of hashish in California. Nonetheless, she did assist the authorized use of medical marijuana.
Like many Individuals over time who’ve shifted their mindset and stance on hashish, so did Harris. Maybe it was even the transformation round her in California after it was recreationally legalized that started to alter her thoughts.
In 2015, throughout the Democratic State Conference, Harris said she needed to finish the federal ban on medical marijuana.
Main as much as the 2020 presidential bid, one thing else modified. Harris’ stance appeared to loosen up much more when it got here to the opposition to marijuana, and it has continued to loosen since then.
In January 2019, solely every week after her presidential bid announcement, Kamala Harris was interviewed by radio present The Breakfast Membership. On the present, Harris admitted to the radio hosts that in school, she had smoked a joint herself, and that she was in favor of legalizing marijuana. She additionally made a joke referencing her Jamaican heritage.
She admitted that she had issues previously about marijuana when requested in regards to the criticism she was going through about her former strategy to marijuana-related crimes. Nonetheless, now that she was a contender within the 2020 election, she was exhibiting she had come a good distance in her stance by as a substitute introducing laws to assist decriminalize and tax marijuana on the federal degree.
“Times have changed — marijuana should not be a crime. We need to start regulating marijuana and expunge marijuana convictions from the records of millions of Americans so they can get on with their lives,” Harris had mentioned throughout her announcement to suggest the Marijuana Alternative Reinvestment and Expungement Act.
The act would imply the expungement of expenses or resentencing for folks convicted of marijuana-related crimes and for tax income to be gained by the marijuana trade if it was handed.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has categorized hashish among the many most harmful managed substances for the final a number of many years. However in 2022, the Division of Well being and Human Providers reviewed how marijuana was categorized, due to Biden and Harris’ affect.
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Throughout a White Home dialogue in March 2024 with rapper Fats Joe, Harris even referred to as out the Division of Well being and Human Providers throughout the interview in an effort to hurry up this reclassification course of and ease marijuana penalties.
Harris discovered it ridiculous that fentanyl was categorized as a much less harmful drug than marijuana, per the classification on the time, regardless of the U.S. fentanyl-related dying toll climbing to tens of 1000’s yearly.
“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible and that we need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment. But this issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin. Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd. Not to mention patently unfair,” Harris had mentioned of the Departments of Well being and Human Providers and Justice, which have been dealing with the evaluate.
In Might 2024, in partial due to the way in which Harris campaigned for the change, a motion to reclassify hashish got here from the Justice Division.
Underneath the Managed Substances Act, this modification meant marijuana would go from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. Whereas Schedule I medicine are ones thought of to be addictive and really harmful, schedule III medicine, that are medicine like anabolic steroids or Tylenol with codeine, are prescribed as wanted and thought of a lot decrease on the dimensions for bodily and psychological dependence.
This classification change marked the most important shift in marijuana regulation within the federal authorities since marijuana was outlawed within the first place.
Kamala Harris and Hashish As we speak
Since she formally grew to become Vice President, Kamala Harris’s advocacy and management in terms of hashish legal guidelines and hashish justice reform has actually been a robust, constructive change in favor of marijuana.
Harris has not appeared afraid to point out her stance on hashish as of late both when the topic has been introduced up in interviews.
Throughout a latest interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the place they mentioned her half in serving to to reclassify hashish, Harris mentioned, “Look, people shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed!”
A joke was additionally made by Kimmel letting Harris know a pressure of weed had even been made in her honor. “Really? Seriously? I did not know that!” Harris replied in shock. Kimmel joked again saying they need to have no less than despatched her a pattern, inflicting Harris to lightheartedly snicker.
The second President Joe Biden endorsed Harris for the Democratic ticket, hashish lovers throughout America started asking themselves one query: The place will she actually stand, and to what finish, on making marijuana federally authorized if she turns into president?
Harris has made a fairly main transformation in terms of insurance policies associated to marijuana on the federal degree. Due to this, many individuals in political circles speculate Harris may act publicly to assist the rescheduling of marijuana.
Proper now, hashish is authorized in some capability in nearly 40 states. However to really resolve the problems associated to state versus federal legal guidelines surrounding hashish, marijuana would have to be descheduled and utterly faraway from the Managed Substances Act checklist altogether.
Different folks speculate, nevertheless, that she may tread extra fastidiously, and preserve an analogous place to Biden. This could imply she can be all for reform, however may nonetheless oppose full legalization on the federal degree.
For now, we might be ready and watching to see the following transfer she makes in terms of hashish regulation reform — particularly if she does turn out to be president.
