Politics
Where Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris Stands On Marijuana

Joe Biden has selected Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his vice presidential running mate, the campaign announced on Tuesday.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s choice to join him on the ticket has evolved significantly on marijuana policy over her career. Though she coauthored an official voter guide argument opposing a California cannabis legalization measure as a prosecutor in 2010 and laughed in the face of a reporter who asked her about the issue in 2014, she went on to sponsor legislation to federally deschedule marijuana in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether she will push Biden in the same direction, as the former vice president has maintained opposition to ending marijuana prohibition despite supermajority support among Democrats.
While Harris, a former attorney general of California, made marijuana reform a major component of her criminal justice platform when she unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, she’s been less vocal about the issue since dropping out in December 2019.
Convincing Biden to come around seems like a steep task in any case. Some advocates suspect that the Democratic National Committee’s platform committee voted against an amendment to add legalization as a 2020 party plank specifically because it’s at odds with the presumptive nominee’s agenda. Biden has drawn the line at decriminalizing marijuana possession, expunging past convictions, modest federal rescheduling, medical cannabis legalization and letting states set their own policies.
But it remains the case that Harris is the chief Senate sponsor of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Actâa comprehensive piece of legalization legislation that includes various social equity and restorative justice provisions. Advocates will be watching to see if she continues to advocate for the reform move as she’s on-boarded to the Biden campaign.
The senator indicated in July that she doesn’t plan to push the presumptive presidential nominee on the issue.
Here’s a deeper look at where Harris stands on marijuana.
This piece was last updated on November 2, 2020 to include the candidateâs most recent statements and policy actions on marijuana.
Legislation And Policy Actions
As noted, Harris’s most notable contribution with respect to cannabis reform legislation is her sponsorship of the MORE Act.
âTimes have changedâmarijuana should not be a crime,â she said when introducing the bill. âWe need to start regulating marijuana, and expunge marijuana convictions from the records of millions of Americans so they can get on with their lives.
The senator first came out in support of legalization in 2018, adding her name to a different far-reaching bill introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). The legislation, the Marijuana Justice Act, would remove cannabis from the list of federally banned substances and also penalize states where marijuana laws are enforced disproportionately against people of color. She also cosponsored the 2019 version of the bill.
The fact isâ,â marijuana laws are not applied and enforced in the same way for all people. Thatâs why I'âve signed onto @CoryBookerâs Marijuana Justice Actâ to make marijuana legal at the federal levelâ. Itâs the smart thing to doâ. pic.twitter.com/JD5qqm0bfU
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 10, 2018
“Right now in this country people are being arrested, being prosecuted, and end up spending time in jail or prison all because of their use of a drug that otherwise should be considered legal,” she said in a press release. “Making marijuana legal at the federal level is the smart thing to do, itâs the right thing to do. I know this as a former prosecutor and I know it as a senator.”
Beyond the MORE Act and Marijuana Justice Act, Harris has also co-sponsored the SAFE Banking Act, which would protect banks that work with marijuana businesses from federal punishment.
The senator sponsored bills aimed at repairing land in California thatâs been impacted by illicit cannabis grows and another piece of legislation that would protect people with drug convictions from losing public housing.
Harris also signed a letter alongside Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that called on the Justice Department to stop blocking federal research into medical cannabis. In a separate sign-on letter, she joined her colleagues in requesting that lawmakers include protections for legal cannabis states in a spending bill.
It is also worth noting that Harris touted her office’s drug enforcement actions on her website while running for reelection as San Francisco district attorney. One page said she “closed legal loopholes that were allowing drug dealers to escape prosecution,” and another bragged she “increased convictions of drug dealers from 56% in 2003 to 74% in 2006.”
Most Recent Comments And Actions
Harris stressed in August that there will be a âpolicy that is going to be about decriminalizing marijuanaâ in a Biden administration.
She also said the following month that the administration wonât be âhalf-steppinââ with âincrementalismâ as far as criminal justice reform is concerned. That said, the senator stopped short of pledging marijuana legalization, saying they would only decriminalize cannabis and expunge prior records.
The senator has made a habit of raising the decriminalization and expungements pledge since joining the ticket with Biden.
In September 2020, she again made the pledge to enact that reform if the pair are elected.
At a vice presidential debate with Mike Pence, she made the same promiseâthough she seemed uneasy when she was attacked over her own drug enforcement record as a prosecutor.
Harris said in October 2020 that the administration would have âa commitment to decriminalizing marijuana and expunging the records of people who have been convicted of marijuana offenses.â
She similarly said that she has a âdealâ with Biden to candidly share feedback on policy issues where they disagree, including on cannabis legalization.
At campaign events in Texas and Nevada, Harris reaffirmed that decriminalization would be a priority if the Democratic ticket is elected. She made the same comments in a recent interview, adding that the pair will be “making sure no one is put behind bars just because theyâve used drugs.”
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in June, Harris discussed how a black man incarcerated over a marijuana offense died after contracting coronavirus. She stated that the case illustrated how “we have two systems of justice in America” based on race.
She and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) made a similar point in a letter to Attorney General William Barr that month.
Harris and two other senators wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in June, criticizing Republicans in the chamber for putting forth a policing reform bill that they argue is inadequate, in part because it does not ban no-knock raids in drug cases as House Democrats did in that chamber’s legislation.
The senator and 43 other members of Congress urged the Justice Department to investigate the death of 26-year-old black woman Breonna Taylor in a botched drug raid.
In September, Harris cited racial disparities in marijuana enforcement as an example of how there are effectively two separate systems of justice in the country for people of color and white people.
In April, she signed onto a letter to Senate leadership, imploring them to include language in coronavirus relief legislation that would allow marijuana businesses to access federal relief dollars just as companies in other industries can.
Marijuana small businesses employ more than 240,000 workers and should be allowed to access coronavirus relief funds too. My colleagues and I are pushing to ensure theyâre not left out of Congressâs next relief package.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) April 24, 2020
“Marijuana small businesses employ more than 240,000 workers and should be allowed to access coronavirus relief funds too,” she tweeted. “My colleagues and I are pushing to ensure theyâre not left out of Congressâs next relief package.”
Also that month, Harris and 10 other senators sent a letter to leadership in a key committee asking that they add a provision allowing cannabis businesses to access federal loan services in spending legislation.
When the governor of Illinois issued pardons for more than 11,000 people with cannabis convictions the day before legal sales started, the senator said she applauded the decision.
I applaud Illinoisâ leadership on this issue. Expunging non-violent marijuana-related offenses is the right thing to do.
Now letâs legalize marijuana at the federal level.https://t.co/7M4of9Aikg
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 4, 2020
“Expunging non-violent marijuana-related offenses is the right thing to do,” she said. “Now letâs legalize marijuana at the federal level.”
Harris joined a group of senators in December 2019 in pressing top federal drug and health agencies to provide an update on the status of efforts to increase the number of authorized marijuana manufacturers for research purposes.
Also that month, she and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers sent a letter to the Justice Department, requesting a policy change allowing researchers to access marijuana from state-legal dispensaries to improve studies on the plantâs benefits and risks.
On the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20, Harris tweeted that the Senate “must pass my Marijuana Opportunity Act to legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge non-violent marijuana-related offenses from the records of the millions whoâve been arrested or incarcerated. Too many lives have been ruined by these regressive policies.”
The Senate must pass my Marijuana Opportunity Act to legalize marijuana at the federal level and expunge non-violent marijuana-related offenses from the records of the millions whoâve been arrested or incarcerated. Too many lives have been ruined by these regressive policies.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 20, 2020
Using loaded war on drugs rhetoric, she called President Trump a “drug pusher” for promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
On The Presidential Campaign Trail
During her own presidential run, Harris released a criminal justice plan that says “it is past time to end the failed war on drugs, and it begins with legalizing marijuana.”
Itâs time to end mass incarceration.
This includes legalizing marijuana, sentencing reforms, and abolishing private prisons. With the addition of job training and education, these actions will reduce crime and help build healthy communities.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 9, 2019
“Itâs time to end mass incarceration,â she tweeted the same day. âThis includes legalizing marijuana, sentencing reforms, and abolishing private prisons. With the addition of job training and education, these actions will reduce crime and help build healthy communities.”
After House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) announced a markup of the MORE Act in November, Harris wrote that the âWar on Drugs was an abject failureâ and that itâs âtime to legalize marijuana and bring justice to people of color harmed by failed drug policies.â
The War on Drugs was an abject failure. It's time to legalize marijuana and bring justice to people of color harmed by failed drug policies.
Grateful for @RepJerryNadlerâs partnership on this issue. I look forward to getting our bill one step closer to becoming law. https://t.co/Qd5wqPfrdT
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) November 18, 2019
âGrateful for [Nadlerâs] partnership on this issue,â she said. âI look forward to getting our bill one step closer to becoming law.”
After the committee approved the legislation, Harris wrote, âNot only do we need to legalize marijuana at the federal level, but we have to do it right and bring justice to communities of colorâ and said the MORE Act would accomplish that.
Not only do we need to legalize marijuana at the federal level, but we have to do it right and bring justice to communities of color.
My bill with @RepJerryNadler will do thatâand it just passed committee in the House. Grateful weâre one step closer to passing it in Congress. https://t.co/RecNLKXAXn
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) November 20, 2019
âLast week, my bill to legalize marijuana passed through House committee with bipartisan support,â she said. âIâll say it again: we can’t legalize marijuana without addressing the injustices to people of color caused by the War on Drugs. My bill would do just that.â
Last week, my bill to legalize marijuana passed through House committee with bipartisan support.
Iâll say it again: we can't legalize marijuana without addressing the injustices to people of color caused by the War on Drugs. My bill would do just that.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) November 26, 2019
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), another presidential candidate, criticized Harrisâs prosecutorial record during a Democratic debate in August. In a follow-up interview, the senator evaded a question about the exchange, dismissing the critique by stating that âIâm obviously a top tier candidate and so I did expect that I would be on the stage and take hits tonight because there are a lot of people that are trying to make the stage for the next debate.â
The Bay Area News Group analyzed the marijuana prosecution record of Harris and said the findings demonstrate that her history âis more nuanced than those debate-stage confrontations indicate.â
Days after former Vice President Joe Biden, another presidential candidate, said he doesnât support adult-use legalization because marijuana could be a gateway to more dangerous drugs, Harris tweeted âmarijuana isn’t a gateway drug and should be legalized.â
Let's be clear: marijuana isn't a gateway drug and should be legalized. Glad to see my bill with Rep. Nadler take the next step in the House this week. https://t.co/d6BcMFlpYT
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 18, 2019
The candidate said that cannabis legalization is an example of an issue sheâs changed her mind on over time during an interview with NowThis.
âWe all will rise or fall together.â â Sen. @KamalaHarris talks her big middle-class tax cut, her evolving cannabis stance, and the âStar Warsâ actor that left her starstruck
Watch Harris answer all of our '20 Questions for 2020.' pic.twitter.com/C7gFgTh7Q1
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) July 9, 2019
âThe whole war on drugs was a complete failure,â she said during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. âThat approach is the gateway to Americaâs problem with mass incarceration.â She didnât directly answer a question about what made her change her mind about cannabis reform from prior opposition to legalization, however.
âThe criminalization of marijuana has been such a big part of what has fueled America’s system of mass incarceration,â she said.
âThe criminalization of marijuana has been such a big part of what has fueled America's system of mass incarcerationâ â @KamalaHarris explains why she supports legalizing cannabis pic.twitter.com/kI8kuM0ld2
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 18, 2019
“There are thousands of people labeled felons for life for selling marijuana, while people out there are making a fortune from the marijuana industry,â the senator said. âThis is an injustice, and as president, Iâll fix it.”
Prior to a House vote on legislation to protect banks that service cannabis businesses, Harris joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and fellow presidential contenders Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in expressing concern about approving cannabis bills that would largely benefit the industry without first passing comprehensive legalization legislation.
I agree. We shouldnât do this without addressing the reality that people of color are being shut out of the legal marijuana industry.
That means not only legalizing marijuana but also expunging criminal records and providing a path for people of color to enter the industry. https://t.co/M1Ri1iDKra
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 21, 2019
âWe shouldnât do this without addressing the reality that people of color are being shut out of the legal marijuana industry,â she said of the banking bill. âThat means not only legalizing marijuana but also expunging criminal records and providing a path for people of color to enter the industry.â
Following the vote in favor of the legislation, Harris tweeted that the reform is âimportant, but it’s not enoughâ and that we âneed to legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge criminal records, and create paths for people of color to enter the legal marijuana industry.”
Last week, the House passed a bill to give marijuana businesses access to banking. Thatâs important, but it's not enough.
We need to legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge criminal records, and create paths for people of color to enter the legal marijuana industry.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 29, 2019
âWe must ensure that as marijuana becomes a bigger business, we are committing ourselves to rebuilding communities that have been disproportionately targeted by failed drug policies and creating a diverse industry going forward,â she wrote in an op-ed for CNN. âIf we fail to address a system that has historically been infected by racial bias, communities of color will continue to shoulder the devastating impacts of the past.â
âTimes have changed. We must get smart on marijuana reform and give everyone the opportunity to reap the benefits that come from the legal marijuana industry,â she said.
After Illinoisâs governor signed a marijuana legalization bill in June, Harris said sheâs thankful that âstates like Illinois are stepping up to correct the mistakes of our pastâ and that itâs âtime to do the same at the federal level.â
Thankful states like Illinois are stepping up to correct the mistakes of our past. Itâs time to do the same at the federal level. https://t.co/FHZuTYS8do
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 1, 2019
âAs the marijuana industry continues to grow, there are people of color sitting behind bars for doing the exact same thing. It’s time we changed the system,â Harris said at a conference in April 2019, adding that those most impacted by the war on drugs should be prioritized when it comes to job opportunities in the legal industry.
As the marijuana industry continues to grow, there are people of color sitting behind bars for doing the exact same thing. It's time we changed the system. #SheThePeople2020 pic.twitter.com/7KotnCqihx
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 24, 2019
She also pledged to pardon some non-violent drug offenders if elected president.
âWe have to have the courage to recognize that there are a lot of folks who have been incarcerated who should not have been incarcerated and are still in prison because they were convicted under draconian laws that have incarcerated them⊠for what is essentially a public health issue,â she said.
In November, Harris discussed the need for industry equity and joked about businesses claiming that rubbing CBD lotion all over oneâs body is a cure-all.
The senator said that drug addiction should be treated as a health issue and “not in jails and prisons,â adding that people with prior cannabis convictions should be “first in line” to get jobs in the legal market.
Harris also said she would implement “mental health care on demand and drug treatment on demand.â
âAs President of the United States, one of the things I will implement is that we have mental health care on demand and drug treatment on demand.â
– @KamalaHarris on the war on drugs, trauma, addiction, and mental health. #SheThePeople2020
— Women's March – Text VOTE to 44310 (@womensmarch) April 24, 2019
âCountless Americans have felt the devastating ramifications of the War on Drugsâmillions still remain incarcerated to this day,â Harris said in March. âThis is a matter of public health, drug addiction, and economic security. Iâll say it again as I did in 2008: it was a complete failure.â
Countless Americans have felt the devastating ramifications of the War on Drugs â millions still remain incarcerated to this day. This is a matter of public health, drug addiction, and economic security. Iâll say it again as I did in 2008: it was a complete failure. pic.twitter.com/WLjk5dMp1b
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 9, 2019
“Our justice system continues to target and imprison young Black and Latinx Americans at high levels due to outdated, unjust marijuana laws,â she wrote. âIâve said it once and Iâll say it again: we must legalize marijuana across the country.”
Our justice system continues to target and imprison young Black and Latinx Americans at high levels due to outdated, unjust marijuana laws. Iâve said it once and Iâll say it again: we must legalize marijuana across the country.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 26, 2019
She also discussed her views on marijuana and drug policy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire in July.
âWe have to treat it as a public health issue, specifically on the issue of marijuana,â Harris said. âWe incarcerated whole entire populations, in particular young men of color, for possessing marijuana, and they ended up being felons for life on an issue that was literallyâif you look at it just in terms of the disparities in terms of who was arrested, who was incarcerated and who was abusingâit was just wrong.”
Previous Quotes And Social Media Posts
Harris has talked quite a bit about marijuana in speeches and on social media.
When then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memo, which provided guidance on federal marijuana enforcement priorities, she said the Justice Department shouldn’t be focused on “going after grandma’s medicinal marijuana.”
California needs federal support in dealing with transnational criminal organizations. What we donât need is Jeff Sessions going after grandmaâs medicinal marijuana.
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) January 5, 2018
Sessions should be focusing on issues like transnational criminal organizations and investigating and prosecuting human trafficking, not going after Californians who are using recreational and medicinal marijuana.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 8, 2018
“This administration and Jeff Sessions want to take us back to the dark ages,” Harris said at the Center for American Progress Ideas Conference in 2017. “Sessions has threatened that the United States Department of Justice may renew its focus on marijuana use even as states like California, where it is legal.”
“Well, let me tell you what California needs, Jeff Sessions,” she said. “We need support in dealing with transnational criminal organizations, dealing with issues like human traffickingânot going after grandmaâs medicinal marijuana. Leave her alone.”
Harris hadn’t signed onto any marijuana reform legislation during the time she was going after Sessions. But she was using the battle to solicit signatures on a petition, a common tactic that politicians use to build email lists that they can later use for fundraising. Several House members pressured her and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to take stronger action by blocking Justice Department nominees until the Cole memo was restored.
The senator has repeatedly called for federal cannabis decriminalization, characterizing existing laws as “regressive policies” that have “ruined” many lives.
Itâs time to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. Itâs time to stop repeating the same mistakes of the past.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 20, 2018
Decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level isnât just the smart thing to do, itâs also the right thing to do. We canât keep repeating the same mistakes of the past. Too many lives have been ruined by these regressive policies.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 14, 2018
“We need to decriminalize marijuana,” she said. “We have a problem of mass incarceration in our country. And letâs be clear, the war on drug was a failed war. It was misdirected.”
Decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level isnât just a smart thing to do âitâs the right thing to do. We canât keep repeating the same mistakes of the past. Too many lives have been ruined by these regressive policies.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 11, 2018
She has also criticized the federal government for blocking military veterans’ access to medical cannabis.
“As states moves toward legalizing marijuana, let’s remember how many lives have been ruined because of our regressive policies,” Harris wrote. “We must focus on restorative justice.”
As states moves toward legalizing marijuana, let's remember how many lives have been ruined because of our regressive policies. We must focus on restorative justice.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 11, 2018
In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Harris said “I started my career as a baby prosecutor during the height of the crack epidemicânot all drugs are equal.”
“We have over-criminalized so many people, in particular poor youth and men of color, in communities across this country and we need to move it on the schedule,” she said. “Plus we need to start researching the effect of marijuana and we have not been able to do it because of where it is on the schedule.”
Harris congratulated Canada on its national legalization of marijuana in 2018.
Congratulations to Canada on moving forward with the legalization of marijuana. As the world moves forward, we canât afford to keep making the same mistakes of the past â itâs time to legalize marijuana at the federal level.https://t.co/BnUKR2fErF
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 22, 2018
Curiously, however, Harris also has a habit of referring to the war on drugs in the past tenseâas if it isn’t the case that hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. are still being arrested for cannabis and other drugs every year.
The war on drugs âwas an abject failure which affects all of our communities, especially âthose struggling. We canât turn the clock back. https://t.co/5b2fH4aBap
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) May 16, 2017
The war on drugs was a failure. It criminalized what is a public health matter. It was a war on poor communities more than anything.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) April 21, 2017
“The war on drugs was a failure,” she said in 2017. “It criminalized what is a public health matter. It was a war on poor communities more than anything.”
She also accused Sessions of “resuscitating” the drug war.
During her time as a prosecutor, Harris said she “saw the war on drugs up close, and let me tell you, the war on drugs was an abject failure.”
“It offered taxpayers a bad return on investment, it was bad for public safety, it was bad for budgets and our economy, and it was bad for people of color and those struggling to make ends meet,” she said.
The fact is, the War on Drugs did not work.
â Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) May 16, 2017
“Iâll tell you what standing up for the people also means,” Harris said in 2015. “It means challenging the policy of mass incarceration by recognizing the war on drugs was a failure. And Democrats, on that point, letâs be clear also: now is the time to end the federal ban on medical marijuana. It is.”
During a speech announcing her presidential candidacy, Harris said, “Once and for all, we have got to call drug addiction what it is: a national, public health emergency. And what we don’t need is another war on drugs.”
Before Harris backed full legalization or federal decriminalization, she was supportive of rescheduling cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act. Asked about the policy in 2016, she said “I would work to remove marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II.”
“We need to reform our criminal justice system and changing the marijuana classification and drug sentencing laws are part of that effort.”
At a debate that year, she predicted that California voters would approve full legalization via a ballot measure (which they did) and reiterated that “we have to do is move [marijuana] from Schedule I to Schedule II.”
“We have incarcerated a large number of predominantly African American and Latino men in this country for possession and use at a very small scale of one of the least dangerous drugs in the schedule,” she said.
It is worth noting that Harris did not publicly endorse California’s successful 2016 cannabis legalization ballot initiative, though it is unknown how she personally voted on the measure.
Two years earlier, Harris told BuzzFeed that while she wasn’t ready to back the idea of legalization, she was “not opposed” to it and that there was “a certain inevitability about it.”
“It would be easier for me to say, ‘Let’s legalize it, let’s move on,’ and everybody would be happy. I believe that would be irresponsible of me as the top cop,” she said. “The detail of these things matters… I don’t have any moral opposition to it or anything like that. Half my family’s from Jamaica.”
But amid an earlier attempt to legalize marijuana in California through a 2010 initiative that appeared on the same ballot as Harris’s candidacy for state attorney general, she called the measure a “flawed public policy.” Her campaign manager said she “supports the legal use of medicinal marijuana but does not support anything beyond that” and that she “believes that drug selling harms communities.”
She also co-authored an argument against the measure that appeared in the state’s official ballot guide, stating that legalization âseriously compromises the safety of our communities, roadways, and workplaces.â
During a speech at The Commonwealth Club in 2010, Harris scoffed at a question about cannabis reform and said âIâm not a proponent of that, but I know that there are a lot of people who are. Itâs not my issue.â At the same event she spoke about prosecuting people for selling drugs, saying, “I don’t feel sorry for you and I’m not going to forgive you for committing a crime.”
Harris was then asked about legalizing marijuana. She laughed at the idea. pic.twitter.com/7DWpFonRd5
— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) July 2, 2019
Later, during her stint as attorney general, Harris received criticism from some marijuana policy reform advocates for not doing more to push back against federal prosecutors’ crackdown against locally approved California medical cannabis dispensaries during the first term of the Obama administration, though she did send a series of letters on the topic and made some public statements.
“The federal government is ill-equipped to be the sole arbiter of whether an individual or group is acting within the bounds of California’s medical marijuana laws when cultivating marijuana for medical purposes,” she wrote in a letter to the state’s U.S. attorneys.
She also called on state lawmakers to clarify California’s medical cannabis laws in a separate letter, which argued that reforms might ward off further federal intervention. “Without a substantive change to existing law, these irreconcilable interpretations of the law, and the resulting uncertainty for law enforcement and seriously ill patients, will persist,” she wrote.
âCalifornians overwhelmingly support the compassionate use of medical marijuana for the ill. We should all be troubled, however, by the proliferation of gangs and criminal enterprises that seek to exploit this law by illegally cultivating and trafficking marijuana,” she said in a statement around the same time. “While there are definite ambiguities in state law that must be resolved either by the state legislature or the courts, an overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine in California. I urge the federal authorities in the state to adhere to the United States Department of Justiceâs stated policy and focus their enforcement efforts on âsignificant traffickers of illegal drugs.’â
An analysis by the Washington Free Beacon determined that at least 1,560 people were sent to California state prisons for marijuana-related offenses during Harris’s tenure as attorney general.
In a 2008 book, Harris argued that nonviolent crimes âexact a huge toll on America’s communitiesâ and that itâs âimportant to fight all crime.â
Kamala Harris's 2008 book "Smart on Crime": "Nonviolent crimes exact a huge toll on America's communities…It's important to fight all crime. Drug crimes in particular exact a terrible toll and rob people young and old of hope." pic.twitter.com/cjeo71Mu0x
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) July 5, 2019
âDrug crimes in particular exact a terrible toll and rob people young and old of hope,â she wrote.
Harris’s overall evolution on cannabis can be neatly summed up with two videos. The first shows her being asked about marijuana legalization in 2014 in light of her Republican opponent for attorney general supporting it. She dismissively laughs off the question.
The second shows Harris during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing pressing President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, on whether he’d use Justice Department funds to go after marijuana businesses acting in compliance with state law.
HARRIS: You do not intend to use fed resources to enforce fed marijuana law in states that have legalized?
BARR: “That’s right. But I think i’s incumbent on the Congress to make a decision as to whether we are going to have a federal system.” pic.twitter.com/owWekY9PqP
â Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 15, 2019
Harris even attempted to crack her own marijuana joke during a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, though the late night host didn’t seem especially amused.
In her book, The Truths We Hold, she took her message in support of legalization a step further. Not only should we “legalize marijuana and regulate it,” but we should also “expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives,” Harris wrote.
âWe also need to stop treating drug addiction like a public safety crisis instead of what it is: a public health crisis,” she also wrote, suggesting she may be in favor of broader drug policy reforms. âWhen someone is suffering from addiction, their situation is made worse, not better, by involvement in the criminal justice system.â
Itâs past time America legalized marijuana and regulated it. But when doing so, we need to expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 10, 2019
Harris’s presidential campaign website hosts a petition to legalize marijuana.
Personal Experience With Marijuana
Harris revealed in a radio interview that she smoked marijuana in college while listening to Tupac and Snoop Dogg, saying, “It gives a lot of people joy, and we need more joy in the world.”
Hear what #KamalaHarris thinks about legalizing marijuana đŹ pic.twitter.com/YGZlCAKUZ0
— The Breakfast Club (@breakfastclubam) February 11, 2019
But that admission sparked a small controversy, with several people pointing out that neither artist had released their debut albums prior to Harris graduating. She conceded in November that she â definitely was not clear about what I was listening toâ while consuming cannabis.
In a separate interview, the senator said that she knows people who have benefited from using medical cannabis.
Marijuana Under A Biden-Harris Administration
Both Harris and Biden have evolved their positions on cannabis over time. Harris, a former prosecutor who campaigned against legalization in her own state has become the lead sponsor of a bill to federally legalize marijuana. Biden, who authored punitive drug legislation during his time as a senator, now supports modest cannabis reforms such as decriminalization and rescheduling, though he continue to oppose legalization. If the Democratic ticket gets elected, it remains to be seen to what extent the new administration would prioritize drug policy reform efforts and whether Harris would seek to encourage Biden to get behind full legalization.
Photo element courtesy of California Attorney General’s Office.
Politics
Marijuana Banking Bill Will Get A House Floor Vote Next Week, Majority Leader Confirms

A bipartisan bill to protect banks that service state-legal marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators has been formally scheduled to receive a House floor vote on Monday, a calendar released by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) office confirms.
Marijuana Moment reported on the expected development earlier Friday after obtaining an email that was sent to stakeholders by a staffer for Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the bill’s sponsor, seeking letters of support for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act ahead of the anticipated vote.
The bill is now now officially listed on the majority leader’s agenda of legislation for Monday.
This will mark the first floor action on a cannabis reform bill this Congress. The standalone legislation cleared the House with bipartisan support in 2019, and its language was also included in two coronavirus relief packages that the chamber approved. The proposal did not advance in any form in the Senate under GOP control, however.
With Democrats now in control of the House, Senate and White House, industry stakeholders are optimistic that the legislation stands a solid chance of becoming law this year.
The SAFE Banking Act was reintroduced in the House last month, and it currently has 151 cosponsorsâmore than one-third of the chamber. Days later, it was refiled in the Senate, where Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) are the chief sponsors.
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The legislation would ensure that financial institutions could take on cannabis business clients without facing federal penalties. Fear of sanctions has kept many banks and credit unions from working with the industry, forcing marijuana firms to operate on a cash basis that makes them targets of crime and creates complications for financial regulators.
Because the bill will be taken up under the process known as suspension of the rules, it will need a two-thirds supermajority to passâan achievable threshold given the level of support it got during the earlier 2019 vote. No floor amendments will be allowed under the procedure.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said in a tweet on Friday that heâll “be voting for the SAFE Banking Act in the House” and that it’s “absurd that Marijuana business cannot fully access the US financial system.” He did not comment on the timing of a vote, however.
Iâll be voting for the SAFE Banking Act in the House.
It is absurd that Marijuana business cannot fully access the US financial system. pic.twitter.com/5YDeuUBr0p
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) April 16, 2021
After it passed the House last Congress, advocates and stakeholders closely watched for any action to come out of the Senate Banking Committee, where it was referred after being transmitted to the chamber. But then-Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) did not hold a hearing on the proposal, despite talk of negotiations taking place regarding certain provisions.
Crapo said he opposed the reform proposal, but he signaled that he might be more amenable if it included certain provisions viewed as untenable to the industry, including a 2 percent THC potency limit on products in order for cannabis businesses to qualify to access financial services as well as blocking banking services for operators that sell high-potency vaping devices or edibles that could appeal to children.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who took the top seat in that panel after Democrats secured a majority in the Senate, told reporters in February that heâs âwillingâ to move the cannabis banking bill, âbut with it needs to come sentencing reform.â
The current Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act has 32 cosponsors.
When legislative leaders announced that the SAFE Banking Act was getting a House vote in 2019,  there was pushback from some advocates who felt that Congress should have prioritized comprehensive reform to legalize marijuana and promote social equity, rather than start with a measure viewed as primarily friendly to industry interests.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and an original cosponsor of the bill, said last month that the plan is to pass the banking reform first this session because it âis a public safety crisis now,â and itâs âdistinctâas weâve heard from some of my colleaguesâdistinct from how they feel about comprehensive reform.â
Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers are simultaneously preparing to introduce legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) are in the process of crafting a legalization bill, and theyâve already met with advocates to get feedback on how best to approach the policy change.
Schumer said this week that the legislation will be introduced and placed on the floor “soon.”
On the House side, Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said recently that he plans to reintroduced his legalization bill, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which cleared the chamber last year but did not advance in the Senate under GOP control.
Politics
Washington Senate Replaces Drug Decriminalization Bill With Revised Measure To Reinstate Penalties

A bill that would have formally decriminalized drugs in Washington State was gutted on the Senate floor on Thursday, with lawmakers approving a dramatically revised version that instead reinstates criminal penalties following a state Supreme Court ruling that overturned prohibition.
The action sets up a possible showdown with more progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives who have said they wonât vote for legislation that returns to a criminal war on drugs.
Washington has been without a law against drug possession since a divided state Supreme Court abruptly struck it down February, after ruling that a narrow portion of the decades-old law was unconstitutional. Lawmakers have since scrambled to address the decisionâwhich has halted drug arrests and prosecutions across the state and freed dozens of people incarcerated on drug possession chargesâbefore the legislative session ends on April 25.
On the Senate floor on Thursday evening, a bill that originally would have left drug possession decriminalized was amended to instead make possession a gross misdemeanor, a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fineâa change that led its lead sponsor to vote against the measure.
Prior to the court decision, drug possession was classified as a felony.
Senators passed the amended version of the bill, SB 5476, on a 28â20â1 vote. It next proceeds to the House, where itâs scheduled for an initial hearing in the Appropriations Committee on Monday, with possible committee action slated for Wednesday, April 21.
Watch the senators discuss the drug penalties legislation, around 1:01:33 into the video below:Â
As amended, the Senate-passed bill represents a moderate reform to Washingtonâs now-invalidated felony law against possession. It requires the prosecutors divert people for first- and second-time possession charges to evaluation and treatment programs, and allows for the possibility of further diversions with a prosecutorâs approval.
âI think that this striking amendment will help move us forward as we continue negotiations in these final 10 days with the body across the way toward having a response that will provide services and treatment and help for people who are struggling with substance use disorder,â Sen. Jamie Pedersen (D), who brought the amendment, said on the Senate floor.
The bill in its original form represented a more significant shift away from the drug war. It would have imposed no penalties for possession of small, âpersonal useâ amounts of drugs, instead routing people to evaluation and treatment services for substance use disorder.
Some senators who initially supported SB 5476 ultimately changed their vote after the misdemeanor amendment was adopted. The billâs original sponsor, Sen. Manka Dhingra (D) said she could no longer support the proposal.
âThe way we are doing this, I’m glad there’ll be opportunities for diversion, but it needs to be not through the criminal justice system,â Dhingra said during floor debate. âI understand this is my bill, I understand my name is on there, but I will be voting no on this today.â
Many senators who weighed in on the bill Thursday said it was important that the legislature pass something before the session end, given the sweeping impact of Februaryâs state Supreme Court decision, State v. Blake. In a statement issued after the floor vote, Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig (D) said that not passing a state law on drug possession âmeans a patchwork of local ordinances that will be confusing to Washingtonians and wonât provide equal justice across the state.â
Generally speaking, state drug laws are understood to preempt those of Washingtonâs cities and counties. With the state law against possession gone, localities could establish their own laws and penalties, and some have already begun doing so.
âThe bill we passed today is not the final word on the subject,â Billig said in a statement. âIt is a compromise that keeps this important legislation moving so that we can do our duty as the representatives of the people of our whole state.â
Representatives in the House, however, have indicated more openness to leaving drug possession decriminalized this session. On Thursday, lawmakers in favor of broader drug reform introduced a new bill, HB 1578, which would expand treatment and recovery services and reclassify low-level possession as a civil infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $125 and no possibility of jail time.
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Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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Of all the measures currently in play this session, the new bill is the one that most closely resembles neighboring Oregonâs drug decriminalization measure passed by voters in November. But its path forward is uncertain: HB 1578 would need to pass both chambers of the legislature in less than two weeks.
Likewise, it remains unclear how the House will receive the Senate-passed bill, SB 5476, in its new form. More progressive members of the Democratic caucus have said they wonât vote for legislation that reimposes criminal penalties for simple possession, but itâs not certain theyâll be able to muster enough support to pass a decriminalization measure.
If House lawmakers were to amend the Senate bill before passing it, the legislation would need to go to a conference committee, where members of both chambers would iron out differences in the two versions of the bills.
Earlier this year, before the Supreme Courtâs decision, a House committee passed a separate bill, HB 1499, that would have ended criminal penalties for personal use amounts of drugs and instead routed people to evaluation and treatment. It would have also significantly expanded the stateâs outreach and recovery programs for people with drug use disorders. That measure failed to proceed further after missing a legislative deadline last month.
HB 1499, for its part, stemmed from an effort to put a drug decriminalization initiative on Washingtonâs ballot last year. Supporters pivoted to a push through the legislature after pressing pause on their signature-gathering campaign after COVID-19 first broke out in the Seattle area early last year.
Advocates for reform have noted that the stateâs criminal enforcement of drug possession laws has had a strong bias against people of color, particularly the stateâs Black, brown and Indigenous communities.
In her comments on the Senate floor, Dhingra echoed that point, arguing that the Blake decision presents a chance for lawmakers to finally begin to address those racial disparities.
âI will say that the Supreme Court did provide us with an opportunity,â she said, âan opportunity to really think about what we as a state and as a nation have been doing in regards to the war on drugs, and to really think critically of the impact that this has had very, very specifically on Brown and Black families.â
âThe racial impact of our drug laws cannot be understated,â Dhingra continued. âWhen we take a look at mass incarceration, when we take a look at families with a single mom who is bringing up her children, when we take a look at parents who cannot find a job because of their criminal history, cannot find housing, cannot seek recovery, it comes down to the manner in which we have been enforcing our drug laws.â
Rep. Roger Goodman (D), the lead sponsor of the new House measure, HB 1578, which would make possession a civil infraction, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening. In an interview with Marijuana Moment last month, however, he called the Blake decision “both a blessing and a curse.”
âItâs an opportunity for us to come up with a more effective approach that does less harm,” he said, “but we donât have the opportunity to be deliberate and inclusive in conversations with interested parties, so itâs not as well thought-out a proposal as it would be otherwise. It has to be an interim measure.â
Just five years ago, few state legislatures would have dreamed of letting drugs remain decriminalized after a court decision like Blake. Now attitudes are beginning to shift.
âThereâs this phenomenon called discontinuous change,â Goodman told Marijuana Moment, âwhere nothing happens and nothing happens and nothing happens, and then the Berlin Wall falls down. Weâre getting to that place in drug policy where itâs a tipping point.â
Oregon voters ended prohibition of low-level drug possession at the ballot during last Novemberâs election, which has contributed to the national conversation.
In both Maine and Vermont, lawmakers have also recently unveiled legislation last month to decriminalize small amounts of illegal drugs. Last month, a Rhode Island Senate committee held a hearing on legislation that would end criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs and replace them with a $100 fine.
In New Jersey, meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said last month that heâs âopen-mindedâ on decriminalizing all drugs.
California Bill To Legalize Possession Of Psychedelics Clears Second Senate Committee
Politics
Biden’s Already On Board With Federal Marijuana Legalization Even If He Doesn’t Use That Word, Booker Says

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) says that President Joe Biden is already where he needs to be to get a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition enacted into lawâeven if he personally opposes legalization. Confusion about the president’s position comes down to semantics, the senator indicated.
Booker said in a recent interview that Biden’s stance in favor of “decriminalization” will be enough to advance the reform legislation he’s working on with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR).
That reason being, he said, is that what the reform proposal would accomplish at the federal level is effectively decriminalizing marijuana by removing it from the list of controlled substances and letting states set their own policiesâsomething Biden does supports.
“I have a great partner” in the president, Booker said in an interview on the podcast Hell & High Water that was published on Wednesday. “He believes in decriminalizationâand as I said to him the first time we talked about it was, ‘well, my bill is no different. I think states should be allowed to do what they want.'”
“I think it should be legalized, but what we need to do at the federal level is de-list marijuana. And as soon as you decriminalize marijuana, you open up states that right now are not able to do a lot of things, to give way for what I want to achieve,” Booker said. “His policy position on marijuanaâhe may say, ‘I’m not for legalization, I’m for decriminalization’âas a federal official, that’s where I’m trying to get.”
In other words, the senator isn’t especially concerned that Biden would be an obstacle if Congress passes the legalization bill he’s planning to introduce, as long as it’s made clear that there’s no mandate for all states to set up tax-and-regulate marijuana markets if they don’t want to.
Booker also said he would like for people to stop playing a video clip of him calling out Biden’s opposition to legalization during a presidential primary debate in 2019, as the interview host did in the new podcast interview. At the time, the senator jokingly accused his fellow candidate of being “high” when he articulated his opposition to legalization days earlier.
“That is a little clip I’m hoping at some point stops being played,” he said. “But yes, indeed, I accused Joe Biden of being high.”
While the text of the pending legalization legislation has yet to be introduced, it’s expected to incorporate key provisions from past reform bills such as Booker’s own Marijuana Justice Act (MJA) that could create incentives for states to adopt legalization. For example, the MJA called for the withholding of certain federal funds to states where cannabis criminalization is enforced out in a racially disproportionate way.
That would go a bridge further than simple decriminalization, so it remains to be seen if Biden would be amendable to that kind of broader reform.
In any case, Booker’s point about the decriminalization/legalization distinction when it comes to federal policy was also made by Schumer in a recent press conference. The majority leader, who’s said that Congress will move forward with legalization regardless of the president’s position, said last month that âI support decriminalization at the federal level, and weâll be introducing legislation with a few of my colleagues shortly.â
Asked to clarify whether he supports legalization, Schumer replied, âdecriminalization, legalization,â implying that the two terms are used interchangeably.
âAt the federal level, you call it âdecriminalizationâ because that lets the states legalize,â he said. But in general, advocates draw a distinction between the terms, with decriminalization usually being used to describe state or local policies that simply remove the threat of incarceration for simple possession while fines or other penalties could still be levied, which is distinct from outright legalization.
Schumer also said this week that the legalization bill they’re working on will be brought to the floor of his chamber âsoon.â
He, Wyden and Booker formally started their reform efforts by holding a meeting earlier this year with representatives from a variety of advocacy groups to gain feedback on the best approach to the reform.
Schumer made a point last month to say that it will specifically seek to restrict the ability of large alcohol and tobacco companies to overtake the industry.
Instead, it will prioritize small businesses, particularly those owned by people from communities most impacted by prohibition, and focus on âjustice, justice, justiceâas well as freedom,â he said.
He also urged voters to reach out to their congressional representatives and tell them that âthis is long overdue.â
On the House side, Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said recently that he plans to reintroduced his legalization bill, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which cleared the chamber last year but did not advance in the Senate under GOP control.
Now that Democrats have the majority in both chambers, as well as the White House, thereâs a sense of optimism among advocates that comprehensive reform is achievable in this Congress.
But with respect to the White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last month that Bidenâs position on adult-use legalization âhas not changed,â meaning he still opposes the policy.
69 Percent Of Americans Now Support Legalizing MarijuanaâAn All-Time High, Quinnipiac Poll Finds
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.