Grading the Presidential Candidates on Marijuana: Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris is a heavy favourite for Democratic Presidential nominee, now that Joe Biden has dropped out of the race and endorsed her. This implies we should always re-open our brief collection on the 2024 Presidential candidates and marijuana. I believed we have been accomplished with these items.

We are able to trot out some deep cuts with Kamala Harris right here on the weblog. In January 2018, I picked her out of the pile for example of a politician who talks a giant sport on hashish whereas doing nothing useful. I additionally surveyed her file on marijuana, which was fairly depressing on the time. In that publish, I famous:

As California Legal professional Common, Ms. Harris did little to advance her state’s curiosity as to hashish. In 2014, when she was requested for her opinion on legalizing adult-use hashish, her response was dismissive laughter. As a state Senator, she has didn’t sponsor and even co-sign any invoice to re- or deschedule marijuana (and there are some good ones). Apart from numerous speaking, Harris’ one huge transfer has been to place collectively a petition to decriminalize marijuana nationwide (however to not revise the CSA). My eight-year-old niece might do this.

Ms. Harris was a California Senator on the time I wrote these phrases. She later threw her hat within the ring as a Presidential candidate within the 2020 election. The nationwide sentiment on hashish coverage, together with the Democratic Get together’s, was fluid on the time. Harris appeared to evolve together with it. She started to name for legalizing marijuana on social media in 2019, and, as we identified in one other weblog publish, her marketing campaign web site marketed:

Kamala will take motion to legalize marijuana, additional reform federal sentencing legal guidelines, finish non-public prisons and the profiting off of individuals in jail, and push states to prioritize remedy and rehabilitation for drug offenses.

We commented:

As a Senator, Harris’ rhetoric has develop into more and more pro-legalization. Most just lately, in 2018 Harris co-sponsored the Marijuana Justice Act which might legalize marijuana if handed. Her obvious pro-legalization stance, nonetheless, hasn’t at all times translated into legislative motion. Her current co-sponsorship of the Marijuana Justice Act comes solely after she handed up many alternatives to co-sponsor or signal payments which might have legalized or rescheduled marijuana. The timing of her co-sponsorship of the invoice — simply over half a yr earlier than her official announcement of her presidential candidacy — suggests her sponsorship was a political transfer. Harris is aware of she should visibly undertake the pro-legalization platform to have a shot on the presidency as the vast majority of Individuals assist legalization.  However we surprise how a lot precedence she would truly give the difficulty if elected into workplace.

Harris didn’t win the Get together’s nomination that yr. Curiously, a searing, cannabis-related takedown by Tulsi Gabbard helped submarine Harris’s candidacy. Gabbard led her indictment in that viral debate second by saying: “She [Harris] put over 1,500 folks in jail for marijuana violations and laughed about it when she was requested if she ever smoked marijuana.” Gabbard then assailed Harris on legal justice extra broadly. Harris’s candidacy by no means recovered.

Nonetheless, Biden picked Harris for his working mate, and most of us have been effective with that. I put collectively one other publish in August of 2020 titled “Kamala Harris Will Assist With Hashish Reform (and That’s Good Sufficient for Me).” In that publish, I summarized:

… It’s not the way you begin, however the way you end. Harris has actually picked up the cost on hashish points recently, together with in her position as Senate sponsor of the MORE Act. As drafted, the MORE Act removes marijuana from the federal Managed Substances Act and gives expungement for sure hashish offenses (and has a 3% likelihood of really turning into legislation sometime).

Nonetheless, if Harris retains at it her advocacy will likely be an actual boon, particularly given Biden’s perplexing unwillingness to assist hashish legalization (we gave Biden a “D”), and particularly given the Democrats’ failure at giant so as to add marijuana legalization to the occasion platform as soon as once more this yr. (Fairly disappointing, particularly contemplating the place the occasion was at within the run-up to the 2016 conference).

So we should always credit score Harris for coming round on hashish, particularly the place the middle of her occasion remains to be a half step behind. It’s true that the Biden-Harris ticket just isn’t the very best that legalization advocates might have hoped for; however, just like the U.S. at giant, the Democratic occasion continues to drift towards inevitably ending prohibition. Harris goes to assist with that, even when it doesn’t occur as shortly as we had as soon as hoped.

You understand the remainder. Biden and Harris have been elected into workplace, with Harris supporting hashish legalization and Biden pledging to “decriminalize the usage of hashish and robotically expunge all prior hashish use convictions.” None of this occurred, or will occur by November.

As a substitute, Biden ordered some overhyped federal pardons, and finally, an administrative evaluate of marijuana’s CSA placement. The latter directive resulted in a suggestion to maneuver marijuana to schedule III. Within the huge image, I supplied that “what Biden did right here might finally be useful, however definitely not as useful as potential. Biden handed the buck, placing us on an unsure, circuitous path.”

Which is the place we stand right this moment. Kamala Harris, as Vice President, has largely been silent by all of it.

So what would Harris do as President, with respect to marijuana? I believe the proper reply is: “Kamala Harris would do no matter is politically expedient, however she wouldn’t in any other case prioritize hashish reform.”

At the moment I’m giving Kamala Harris a “B” grade, if solely as a result of she is a Presidential candidate who has referred to as for hashish legalization. And I believe she would possible make that occur– supplied she doesn’t must work for it.

For prior posts on this collection, take a look at the next: