Politics
Senator Says Harris Will ‘Be Ready To Sign’ Marijuana Reform Bills If Elected President
If Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president this November, she will “be ready to sign” marijuana reform bills into law, a Democratic senator says, as other lawmakers similarly predict more momentum on cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels under a Harris-Walz administration.
In a series of interviews at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates ceremonially nominated Harris on Tuesday, Democratic members discussed the future of marijuana policy with a first-ever fully pro-legalization administration—as well as their concerns about what might happen if former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, ultimately prevails.
“I think she’ll be very supportive” of cannabis reform, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that leadership is aiming to advance, told Marijuana Moment. “If we can get these bills through, she’ll be ready to sign them.”
Asked about his own predictions for marijuana reform under a Harris-Walz administration, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said he believes having them in the White House would embolden more states to take action on issues of “private liberty” such as cannabis legalization.
“I think that we’ll have a chance to work with the new administration” on advancing marijuana reform, he added. “I have long felt that the Congress is lagging behind the American people.”
While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) 2024 platform that was formally approved on Monday omitted an explicit endorsement of decriminalization, Wyden said he still backs the party document because of its focus on civil liberties, which he says transfers to cannabis. The platform also touted President Joe Biden’s marijuana pardons and rescheduling directive, while calling for expungements.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) told Marijuana Moment he thinks that if cannabis rescheduling goes through, as the Justice Department has proposed, that is going to be “powerful electorally” for the Harris-Walz ticket.
Also, while Trump recently indicated that he’s coming around to the idea of decriminalization in light of the growing state legalization movement, Schatz said voters “don’t have to wonder what Donald Trump would be like about marijuana” based on his prior administration’s record, which the senator described as “awful.” That included appointing an attorney general who rescinded federal cannabis guidance that had generally urged federal prosecutors to use discretion when dealing with state-legal marijuana activity.
“The problem for Trump is that nobody believes him, and we have four years of his policy,” Schatz said. “Of course he’s going to say whatever is popular now, but when in doubt, he will do whatever the [conservative think tank] Heritage Foundation tells him to do.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) said while he doesn’t necessarily believe marijuana legalization will be at the “top” of a Harris-Walz agenda, their respective backgrounds nonetheless bode well for reform.
“I think the sky is the limit with those two,” he told Marijuana Moment. “They’re going to govern very effectively on all of the issues that we need to address.”
“I’m sure that Kamala Harris, when it comes to issues of cannabis legalization—or at least decriminalization—will be on the right side of public sector,” Johnson added. “The election of Tim Walz as vice president and Kamala Harris as president will herald a new day in America.”
He also echoed Schatz’s point about the Republican nominee, arguing that “everybody knows that you can’t depend on Donald Trump’s word,” including his recent remarks signaling support for decriminalization.
Asked whether he feels Harris should publicly advocate for marijuana legalization, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said, “I think everybody should.” It wouldn’t just be good for the Democratic party, he said, it would “be good for the world.”
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) similarly said he would promote broader legalization if he was in Harris’s shoes, but “that’s just me.” He said he doesn’t feel that cannabis reform is “the major issue of this campaign,” but it’s nonetheless “the right thing to do.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he thinks it would “make some sense” for Harris to advocate for reform that goes beyond the current administration’s rescheduling push. For now, however, he said it’s “most important” for Congress to enact cannabis banking legislation, an incremental proposal that he says has the votes for passage.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) also told Marijuana Moment that the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that moved through the Senate Banking Committee last September “makes sense.”
“We’ve gotten close a couple of times on it and…I think we’re going to get it done eventually,” the senator said.
Meanwhile, before Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign played into the contrasting cannabis policy positions under Trump, with multiple email blasts and online advertisements that framed the incumbent as the better choice for those who support cannabis reform. Since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket, however, her campaign has been silent on marijuana policy issues.
Observers are also awaiting a formal statement from Trump about where he stands on a recreational legalization measure that will be on the November ballot in Florida, where he’s a resident, after he said he’s increasingly open to decriminalization amid the state-level legalization movement.
Harris has a more defined position on cannabis issues heading into the election. While critics, including Trump, have been quick to point to her prosecutorial record on marijuana, she’s also sponsored a comprehensive legalization bill in the Senate and called for legalization as recently as March during a closed-door meeting with cannabis pardon recipients.
Meanwhile, Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.
As president, Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed.
While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to codify federal policy respecting states’ rights to legalize.
That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider that prohibits the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs.
DNC has separately played up the Biden-Harris administration’s marijuana reform platform on social media—but it’s received some pushback after suggesting that cannabis has already been rescheduled and that the country’s “failed approach” to marijuana has now ended.
Separately, a series of recent polls found widespread majority support for cannabis legalization, federal rescheduling and marijuana industry banking access among likely voters in three key presidential battleground states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The LCB contributed reporting from Chicago.
GOP Senators Claim Marijuana Is A ‘Gateway Drug’ As They Oppose Rescheduling And Legalization
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
