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    • Here’s where she stands on marijuana
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    Here’s where she stands on marijuana

    Umito Posted on

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    Marijuana is on the ballot in four states this election day and voters may be trying to understand how the presidential candidates think about its potential legalization.

    Democratic candidate Kamala Harrisof which aggressive pursuits of weed crimes in the past has sparked discussion, taken on a more gradual approach to marijuana legislation since his involvement in federal politics.

    This year, voters in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Florida will see marijuana on their ballots. Specifically, ballot measures related to recreational marijuana will be on the table in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota, and medical marijuana will be on the ballot in Nebraska. And in Massachusetts, where medical and recreational marijuana is already legal, voters will decide whether to legalize psychedelics.

    But Americans aren’t just talking about marijuana in these four states. In fact, 88% of adults in the United States think marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use, and 57% think marijuana should be legal for both purposes, according to one study. Pew Research Center study published in March.

    Recent external support

    In a job Made to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Harris said the Harris-Walz agenda supports the legalization of recreational marijuana.

    “I will legalize recreational marijuana, eliminate unfair legal barriers, and create opportunities for all Americans to succeed in this new industry,” said the job bed.

    In an interview given in September on podcast “ALL THE SMOKE” Harris said her position on marijuana legalization is one she’s had for a long time.

    “I’m a firm believer that people shouldn’t go to jail for smoking weed, and we know historically what that means and who went to jail,” he added. Harris told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. “Secondly, I think we’ve come to a point where we need to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior. Actually, this is not a new position for me. I’ve been thinking for a long time we need to legalize it .

    As vice president, Harris supported Biden’s federal pardon for all Americans who had used marijuana in the past, including people who were never arrested or prosecuted – passed in 2023. She also defended the reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

    Support in reprogramming

    In May, the Department of Justice, under the Biden administration, decided to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III, which Harris supported.

    Currently, marijuana is a Schedule I drugwhich are drugs defined as having “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse” by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, ecstasy and methaqualone.

    Schedule III drugson the other hand, are defined as having “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” Examples are medications containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone.

    The DOJ has not yet finalized its decision on the matter.

    A more aggressive past

    Although Harris and her campaign showed direct support for legalizing recreational marijuana during their campaign, her stance on the drug has not always been so progressive.

    Whiles, California Attorney General and San Francisco District Attorney, Harris prosecuted for marijuana crimes.

    As San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011, Harris’ prosecutors convicted more than 1,900 people for cannabis offenses, according to PBS. And during his tenure as California attorney general, more than 2,000 Californians were incarcerated for marijuana offenses, according to Reuters.

    While running for California attorney general – for her first term and then for re-election – Harris opposed the legalization of recreational marijuana.

    “There’s quite a concern about how we would detect impairment for the purposes of legal or illegal driving,” Harris said of California’s legalization of recreational marijuana in 2016, according to the Sacramento Bee. “These are real details and I take seriously, when I bring up a subject like this, the fact that we thought about the details.”

    Changes at the federal level

    Harris’ stance on marijuana appears to have changed when she became a U.S. senator in 2017.

    During her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris proposed legislation which would legalize marijuana at the federal level, in addition to expunging marijuana-based convictions, providing services to individuals negatively impacted by the “war on drugs”, providing funds to state and local entities to finance small marijuana businesses and funding programs to minimize marijuana. barriers to licensing and employment.

    “I inhaled.”

    Perhaps one of Harris’ most popular comments on marijuana is when she said in a 2019 interview on radio show “The Breakfast Club” that she had smoked marijuana.

    “I inhaled,” Harris said. “It was a long time ago but yeah.” This comment was in reference to former President Bill Clinton’s statement that he “did not inhale” his 1992 presidential campaign.

    Greta Cross is a national trends reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. An idea for a story? Send him an email to [email protected].

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