Vice President Harris speaks at a roundtable on marijuana reform that included rapper Fats Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photos
cover caption
toggle caption
Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Vice President Harris speaks at a roundtable on marijuana reform that included rapper Fats Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Vice President Harris on Friday urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to work as shortly as potential on its assessment of whether or not to reschedule marijuana as a less-dangerous drug.
Harris made her feedback throughout a roundtable dialog about marijuana reform with rapper Fats Joe, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and a number of other individuals who have obtained pardons for prior marijuana convictions.
“No one ought to should go to jail for smoking weed,” Harris stated, framing the difficulty of marijuana reform as a legal justice challenge that disproportionately hurts Black and Latino males.
This was a marketing campaign promise from 2019
Throughout his 2019 marketing campaign, Biden pledged he would decriminalize marijuana and expunge prior convictions for pot use. He stated he would assist legalization for medical use — however depart selections about leisure use as much as the states.
Biden has pardoned folks convicted of straightforward possession beneath federal legislation and D.C. statute — although the overwhelming majority of convictions occur on the state stage. Harris praised Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for addressing the difficulty in his state, and inspired different states to comply with his lead.
Marijuana is at the moment labeled as a Schedule I drug — as harmful as heroin — which Harris known as “absurd” and “unfair.” Throughout his marketing campaign, Biden stated he would reschedule it.
In 2022, weeks earlier than the midterm elections, Biden introduced that he had requested Well being and Human Companies and the Justice Division to assessment that classification. HHS completed its half of the assessment final yr, however the DEA has not.
“I can not emphasize sufficient that they should get to it as shortly as potential, and we have to have a decision based mostly on their findings and their evaluation,” Harris stated on Friday.
Biden talked about the difficulty in his State of the Union handle
Biden talked about marijuana reform in his State of the Union handle, saying “Nobody must be jailed for utilizing or possessing marijuana.”
The difficulty polls significantly properly with younger voters — a demographic that has turn out to be much less enthused about Biden particularly over the best way he has dealt with Israel’s warfare in Gaza.
Marijuana reform additionally got here up this week in Milwaukee, when Biden toured his celebration’s marketing campaign headquarters for Wisconsin. One supporter held up an indication praising Biden for his point out of the difficulty within the State of the Union.
“I am taking good care of that,” Biden stated.
Supply hyperlink
