- Kamala Harris has beforehand supported federal marijuana legalization and continues to again reforms.
- However it’s not clear precisely how far she would go if elected president.
- Lawmakers advised Enterprise Insider they remained not sure how she would method the problem.
As a United States senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Kamala Harris supported not simply legalizing marijuana nationwide, however expunging nonviolent marijuana-related offenses.
Now serving as her get together’s standard-bearer, it stays unclear precisely how the vice chairman would method the problem if elected this November — notably whether or not she would lean additional into pro-marijuana reforms than President Joe Biden, who stays extra skeptical of the drug than different Democratic Occasion leaders.
Since launching her marketing campaign, Harris has not spoken about marijuana at size, and her web site’s coverage web page accommodates no point out of the problem. Her marketing campaign declined to elaborate on her present place when reached for remark this week. And in a September 14 interview with Spectrum Information, her operating mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, did not immediately tackle the problem, saying it is an “problem for states.”
That is to not say it is unclear whether or not Harris helps marijuana reforms generally. Past her report of supporting legalization, she’s served in an administration that is issued 1000’s of pardons for marijuana use and possession. After the Biden administration initiated a course of this 12 months to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, signifying that the federal government views it as much less harmful, she mentioned it was “absurd” that marijuana was handled as a harmful drug akin to heroin or fentanyl.
In April, Harris tweeted that no person “ought to need to go to jail for smoking weed” and mentioned that “we should proceed to alter our nation’s method to marijuana.”
However Harris’ willingness to transcend what the Biden administration has executed carries not simply important financial implications — states collected greater than $4 billion in tax income in 2023, based on the Marijuana Coverage Challenge — however political ramifications on this election, on condition that former President Donald Trump just lately signaled assist for legalization efforts.
Interviews with greater than a half-dozen pro-marijuana Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week revealed that many are usually not solely certain of Harris’ present place.
“I simply do not know the place she is on this problem,” mentioned Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, a key sponsor of “secure banking” laws designed to make it simpler for banks to work with marjiuana companies in states the place the drug is authorized.
“I might suspect that she would most likely assist [legalization], however I do not know,” mentioned Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, in contrast, appeared flabbergasted by the query. The Oregon Democrat, who was a founding father of the Congressional Hashish Caucus, insisted that Harris’ previous cosponsorship of pro-marijuana payments was ample for understanding her present stance. “It is not going to alter. Jeez,” Blumenauer mentioned. “It is her report.”
Booker, a longtime champion for marijuana reform on Capitol Hill, pointed to Harris’ introduction of the Marijuana Alternative Reinvestment and Expungement Act in 2019, at the same time as he acknowledged that the Biden administration had not gone so far as that invoice would.
“I do know that there are ideas in there which can be nonetheless her ideas,” Booker mentioned, including that Harris had been “guided by the pragmatism, and this establishment, and what can we will get executed.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speculated that Harris had performed a job in pushing the Biden administration to take a extra progressive method to marijuana, together with the transfer to reschedule the drug earlier this 12 months.
“I do not imagine that the President was naturally positioned to try this. I believe he’s, in a number of respects, of his era,” the New York Democrat. “I do suppose that push did come from the Vice President.”
‘I do not know whether or not that may be a high precedence problem’
There is not any denying that marijuana legalization is well-liked. A 2023 Gallup ballot discovered that 70% of People believed the drug ought to be authorized, together with a naked majority of Republicans.
It is why Trump has damaged with GOP orthodoxy and introduced that he would vote for a poll measure to legalize leisure marijuana use in Florida and mentioned he would assist secure banking legal guidelines.
In fact, there’s purpose for skepticism round Trump’s place — as president, he was not particularly pleasant towards marijuana.
“It is not possible to inform from supportive statements whether or not or not he would truly take any motion on this problem as president, contemplating he actually did not contact it in any respect in his final administration,” mentioned Morgan Fox, political director for the Nationwide Group for the Reform of Marijuana Legal guidelines.
Fox mentioned that whereas the Biden administration has “executed extra for hashish coverage reform than any presidency earlier than,” the transfer to reschedule marijuana didn’t go far sufficient — and it might be months till it truly takes impact because the evaluate course of performs out.
The one “sensible affect,” Fox mentioned, is that marijuana companies would now be allowed to deduct enterprise bills on tax filings.
If Harris have been to pursue legalization, there are two ways in which she may do it: by signing federal laws handed by Congress, or by shifting to de-schedule the drug herself, although that course of may additionally take years.
“I do not know whether or not that may be a high precedence problem, however I do suppose that we’ll see a possible Harris administration go a lot farther than the Biden administration has,” Fox mentioned.
As as to whether Harris ought to embrace the recognition of marijuana in her marketing campaign, most lawmakers demurred.
“I by no means object to individuals who converse on my points, however she’s acquired lots on her plate,” Blumenauer mentioned. “She’s acquired numerous folks to inform her what to do. I will not be certainly one of them.”
