WASHINGTON – “As far as I’m concerned, nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed,” Vice President Kamala Harris said during an Instagram post with rapper Fat Joe.
The vice president sat down with the rapper whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and several people who have received pardons for marijuana convictions during a roundtable discussion on justice reform.
“Under Joe Biden and my administration, we have pardoned people who have been convicted under federal law for marijuana offenses for simple possession,” Harris said.
President Biden further urged governors to pardon state offenses and initiated a review of marijuana classification in 2022. He echoed these sentiments during his recent State of the Union address, underscoring the importance of reevaluating marijuana’s classification.
Expressing her frustration with current federal policies, Harris deemed it “absurd” that marijuana is classified as more dangerous than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid fueling the nation’s deadliest drug epidemic. She urged expedited completion of the reclassification, with regulators considering changing it from Schedule I to Schedule III, thereby lessening regulation.
Harris’ personal history with cannabis, including her admission of past use during college, adds depth to the discussion. In her 2019 book, she also advocated for marijuana legalization.
According to Gallup polling, seven in ten U.S. adults favor legalizing marijuana.
