Kamala Harris’ marijuana stance is hazier than you think

With Trump signaling some support for marijuana legalization, it’s still unclear whether Harris would go further than Biden.

As a United States senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Kamala Harris supported not just legalizing marijuana nationwide, but expunging nonviolent marijuana-related offenses.

Now serving as her party’s standard-bearer, it remains unclear exactly how the vice president would approach the issue if elected this November — particularly whether she would lean further into pro-marijuana reforms than President Joe Biden, who remains more skeptical of the drug than other Democratic Party leaders.

Since launching her campaign, Harris has not spoken about marijuana at length, and her website’s policy page contains no mention of the issue. Her campaign declined to elaborate on her current position when reached for comment this week. And in a September 14 interview with Spectrum News, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, didn’t directly address the issue, saying it’s an “issue for states.”

That’s not to say it’s unclear whether Harris supports marijuana reforms in general. Beyond her record of supporting legalization, she’s served in an administration that’s issued thousands of pardons for marijuana use and possession. After the Biden administration initiated a process this year to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, signifying that the government views it as less dangerous, she said it was “absurd” that marijuana was treated as a dangerous drug akin to heroin or fentanyl.

In April, Harris tweeted that nobody “should have to go to jail for smoking weed” and said that “we must continue to change our nation’s approach to marijuana.”

But Harris’ willingness to go beyond what the Biden administration has done carries not just significant economic implications — states collected more than $4 billion in tax revenue in 2023, according to the Marijuana Policy Project — but political ramifications in this election, given that former President Donald Trump recently signaled support for legalization efforts.

Interviews with more than a half-dozen pro-marijuana Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week revealed that many are not entirely sure of Harris’ current position.

“I just don’t know where she is on this issue,” said Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, a key sponsor of “safe banking” legislation designed to make it easier for banks to work with marjiuana businesses in states where the drug is legal.

“I would suspect that she would probably support [legalization], but I don’t know,” said Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, by contrast, seemed flabbergasted by the question. The Oregon Democrat, who was a founder of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, insisted that Harris’ past cosponsorship of pro-marijuana bills was sufficient for understanding her current stance. “It’s not going to change. Jeez,” Blumenauer said. “It’s her record.”

Booker, a longtime champion for marijuana reform on Capitol Hill, pointed to Harris’ introduction of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act in 2019, even as he acknowledged that the Biden administration had not gone as far as that bill would.

“I know that there are principles in there that are still her principles,” Booker said, adding that Harris had been “guided by the pragmatism, and this institution, and what can we can get done.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speculated that Harris had played a role in pushing the Biden administration to take a more progressive approach to marijuana, including the move to reschedule the drug earlier this year.

“I don’t believe that the President was naturally positioned to do that. I think he is, in several respects, of his generation,” the New York Democrat. “I do think that push did come from the Vice President.”

‘I don’t know whether that would be a top priority issue’

There’s no denying that marijuana legalization is popular. A 2023 Gallup poll found that 70% of Americans believed the drug should be legal, including a bare majority of Republicans.

It’s why Trump has broken with GOP orthodoxy and announced that he would vote for a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida and said he would support safe banking laws.

Of course, there’s reason for skepticism around Trump’s position — as president, he was not especially friendly toward marijuana.

“It’s impossible to tell from supportive statements whether or not he would actually take any action on this issue as president, considering he really didn’t touch it at all in his last administration,” said Morgan Fox, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Fox said that while the Biden administration has “done more for cannabis policy reform than any presidency before,” the move to reschedule marijuana did not go far enough — and it may be months until it actually takes effect as the review process plays out.

The only “practical impact,” Fox said, is that marijuana businesses would now be allowed to deduct business expenses on tax filings.

If Harris were to pursue legalization, there are two ways that she could do it: by signing federal legislation passed by Congress, or by moving to de-schedule the drug herself, though that process could also take years.

“I don’t know whether that would be a top priority issue, but I do think that we will see a potential Harris administration go much farther than the Biden administration has,” Fox said.

As to whether Harris should embrace the popularity of marijuana in her campaign, most lawmakers demurred.

“I never object to people who speak on my issues, but she’s got a lot on her plate,” Blumenauer said. “She’s got lots of people to tell her what to do. I won’t be one of them.”