Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Ca.) is undeniably a rising star in the Democratic party. Her announcement Thursday that she would back federal marijuana legalization has quickly propelled her to the ranks of progressive heavyweights like Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). A potential 2020 contender for the White House, Harris’s recent statements signal she is ready to move the country toward progressive marijuana and criminal justice reform.
Sen. Kamala Harris Vows To Support Federal Marijuana Legalization
As Sen. Kamala Harris joins the ranks of Marijuana Justice Act sponsors, she moves alongside progressive Democrats like Cory Booker, the bill’s sponsor, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who champion marijuana legalization as a social justice issue.
Sen. Booker’s legislation would remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. But the justice component goes much further. The Marijuana Justice Act would additionally expunge the criminal records of any American with prior marijuana use or possession convictions.
It’s a radical proposal that would dramatically alter the criminal justice landscape in the United States. And that’s something for which Harris, former attorney general of California, has long fought.
“It’s the right thing to do. And I know this as a former prosecutor. I know this as a senator,” Harris said in a video posted by NowThis announcing her decision. “I just look at what we want as a country and where we need to be instead of where we’ve been.”
And where we’ve been, according to Harris and many who support cannabis legalization, has been a nightmare of racially disparate drug enforcement and incarceration. Where we’ve been, Harris says, is the failed war on drugs.
“The war on drugs was a war on communities. Not somebody smoking a joint,” Harris