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(The Guardian) Kamala Harris promises full marijuana legalization – is that a gamechanger?
Kamala Harris announced on Monday that if elected president, she would fully legalize adult recreational cannabis on the federal level – the first time a presidential nominee has taken such an unambiguous stance on ending cannabis prohibition.
As part of her pledge, she said she would take steps to ensure that Black men, disproportionately incarcerated and disfranchised by the “war on drugs”, would stand to profit from the industry.
Vince Sliwoski, a partner at the cannabis law firm Harris and Sliwoski, said he “was happy to see it, because I like the messaging”, but added: “She can’t just snap her fingers and do it when she gets into office. It’s not something that can be done via executive orders.”
Griffen Thorne, also an attorney specializing in cannabis, felt the promise was “clearly political”, given the announcement came just three weeks before the election. Thorne and other experts the Guardian spoke to suspect Harris’s campaign is attempting to shore up numbers with Black voters, particularly Black men, who are currently less likely to support Harris than they were Biden, according to a New York Times poll.
“Federal marijuana legalization is a sound policy and supporting it is a smart strategy – not just with Black voters, but with Americans across the board,” said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation with Drug Policy Action.
“As a Black woman and the first person of color to regulate marijuana for both medical and adult use, I understand the challenges in creating legal marijuana markets that work for Black men. I also recognize the profound harms caused by federal prohibition.”
Packer added that it makes sense for Harris’s plan to include provisions that will remove barriers for Black men in cannabis and other domains.
Notably, the pledge sets Harris apart from both her opponent and her predecessor. While Trump and Biden now support some level of cannabis legalization, Harris is the first to explicitly state that ending prohibition is a priority.
During his administration, Biden made a number of promises on cannabis, including to expunge criminal records for possession convictions and get cannabis rescheduled so that it is eligible for FDA approval. The DEA has made progress on rescheduling, but it won’t go through before the election.
And Biden only expunged a small fraction of cannabis-related convictions during his administration. “It was kind of embarrassing, because he kept up on his website all this stuff he was promising,” said Sliwoski.
-Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...oct/19/election-harris-marijuana-legalization
Kamala Harris announced on Monday that if elected president, she would fully legalize adult recreational cannabis on the federal level – the first time a presidential nominee has taken such an unambiguous stance on ending cannabis prohibition.
As part of her pledge, she said she would take steps to ensure that Black men, disproportionately incarcerated and disfranchised by the “war on drugs”, would stand to profit from the industry.
Vince Sliwoski, a partner at the cannabis law firm Harris and Sliwoski, said he “was happy to see it, because I like the messaging”, but added: “She can’t just snap her fingers and do it when she gets into office. It’s not something that can be done via executive orders.”
Griffen Thorne, also an attorney specializing in cannabis, felt the promise was “clearly political”, given the announcement came just three weeks before the election. Thorne and other experts the Guardian spoke to suspect Harris’s campaign is attempting to shore up numbers with Black voters, particularly Black men, who are currently less likely to support Harris than they were Biden, according to a New York Times poll.
“Federal marijuana legalization is a sound policy and supporting it is a smart strategy – not just with Black voters, but with Americans across the board,” said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation with Drug Policy Action.
“As a Black woman and the first person of color to regulate marijuana for both medical and adult use, I understand the challenges in creating legal marijuana markets that work for Black men. I also recognize the profound harms caused by federal prohibition.”
Packer added that it makes sense for Harris’s plan to include provisions that will remove barriers for Black men in cannabis and other domains.
Notably, the pledge sets Harris apart from both her opponent and her predecessor. While Trump and Biden now support some level of cannabis legalization, Harris is the first to explicitly state that ending prohibition is a priority.
During his administration, Biden made a number of promises on cannabis, including to expunge criminal records for possession convictions and get cannabis rescheduled so that it is eligible for FDA approval. The DEA has made progress on rescheduling, but it won’t go through before the election.
And Biden only expunged a small fraction of cannabis-related convictions during his administration. “It was kind of embarrassing, because he kept up on his website all this stuff he was promising,” said Sliwoski.
-Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...oct/19/election-harris-marijuana-legalization
