Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Republican former President, Donald Trump, have both declared some pro-marijuana legalization positions before the November 5th Presidential election next Tuesday.
Both have also taken some anti-marijuana positions in their careers as well.
The election polls between the candidates are very close.
After performing terribly at a debate against Donald Trump in June, President Joe Biden was replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee by Kamala Harris due to great concerns over his age.
Both libertarian Republicans and progressive Democrats are pro-marijuana legalization. Libertarians like freedom, and progressives like equity and social justice. Moderates like opportunities to make money.
Unfortunately, “traditional values” voters are against it. They have a lot of power in both parties.
Heady NJ is not endorsing a candidate. However, we do favor descheduling as a route for federal marijuana legalization along with New Jersey cannabis home growing.
What’s the Deal with Federal Marijuana Legalization?
President Biden (D) has initiated a process to reschedule marijuana to a Schedule III narcotic from a Schedule I narcotic. The next step in the process, which started in 2022, is a Drug Enforcement Authority (DEA) hearing on December 2nd.
It will be held at their headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, outside Washington, DC. Some advocates are organizing a pro-marijuana legalization protest that day.
The DEA has too much power in this process. It might take a law passed by Congress to secure federal marijuana legalization.
What does Donald Trump Think About Marijuana Legalization?
Trump endorsed the Florida cannabis legalization ballot initiative and the Schedule III efforts in a post on the conservative social media site Truth Social:
“I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use. We must also implement smart regulations while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product. As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November. As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” he wrote.
The Florida referendum is backed by the large corporate Multi-State Operator (MSO) Trulieve. It has poured millions of dollars into the campaign. The intoxicating hemp/smoke shop industries are big in Florida. A lot of them are underground legacy to legal operators. They are against it. Many cannabis advocates and businesspeople don’t think it will further social justice or help small businesses.
Donald Trump and the Cole Memo
Trump’s record on marijuana while in office is mixed. His first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, rescinded the Cole Memo issued by the Department of Justice during the Obama Administration. It nearly brought down all the state-legal cannabis markets.
But he was only there for a year and then replaced by William Baer since Sessions fell out of favor with Trump. Baer let the state cannabis markets function but did not re-create the Cole Memo.
Hemp Legalized
Donald Trump legalized hemp and intoxicating hemp when he signed the 2018 Farm Bill that passed Congress with bipartisan support into law. It allowed hemp with less than 0.3 percent Delta 9 THC to be legal for industrial use and personal use.
So, the Farm Bill allowed the hemp and CBD industry to boom since hemp can be used to make a lot of things. It also allowed for intoxicating hemp to be sold.
Trump also freed some federal marijuana prisoners on his last day in office.
What does Kamala Harris Think About Marijuana Legalization?
Harris was recently on the Breakfast Club podcast with Charlamagne Tha God, who wants to open the Hashstoria dispensary in downtown Newark.
“As Vice President, I’ve been a champion for bringing marijuana down on the schedule. So instead of it being ranked up there with heroin, we bring it down,” she explained.
“As President, I will work on decriminalizing. I know exactly how those laws have been used to disproportionately impact certain populations, specifically Black men,” Harris declared.
In addition, she released a report that said she would work with Congress to legalize marijuana and undo harm experienced by Black and Brown people. It was part of a document about things she would do to help Black men.
It says she wants to “legalize marijuana at the federal level to break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back.”
She also recently released a “to-do list” of priorities where recreational marijuana legalization is 6th. It tops other big political issues like expanding healthcare, promoting green energy, and passing gun control legislation.
Devil in the Details of Cannabis Reform
Unfortunately, there are no details about her specific federal cannabis policy on the Kamala Harris for President website. However, there are a lot of details on other issues cannabis voters might like.
Many faithful cannabis consumers are unhappy she became prominent as a tough-on-crime District Attorney (DA) in San Francisco. As DA, her job was to, in part, enforce marijuana prohibition. However, she says she tried to moderate it.
Harris’ Pro-Marijuana Legalization Position and Record
“I was the most progressive prosecutor in California on marijuana cases and would not send people to jail for simple possession of weed,” Harris explained on the Breakfast Club podcast.
She blamed the bureaucracy of the DEA for delays in the Schedule III process.
As a Senator from California, she was a leading advocate for federal marijuana legalization. Harris was the leading Senate sponsor of the MORE Act, which was legislation that had a strong social justice component.
She has also said she has smoked weed more than once.
However, in 2019 many believe she said on the Breakfast Club podcast she listened to the rapper Tupac in the 80’s while smoking. But he came out in the 90’s.
Thus, some people think she is not sincere. Or she got high and mixed up rap songs.
According to the respected news source Reuters, she was asked two questions quickly about what she listens to now and what she listened to while smoking weed in college. So maybe she just responded to the first question.
A lot of politicians play both sides of an issue. For example, in the Master of the Senate book by Robert Caro, he details how President Lyndon Baines Johnson was a Democratic Senator from Texas. To charm a powerful Senator, his first speech in the Senate was against a civil rights reform bill.
However, as President, Johnson saw that civil rights reform was a popular issue and led the effort to pass great civil rights legislation.
Descheduling Versus Rescheduling
As Vice President, Harris met with Chris Goldstein of NORML and a Heady NJ guest author, who was pardoned for his federal possession crimes.
Goldstein advocated in favor of descheduling and reported back a receptive response. Descheduling is a very popular position in the cannabis industry and organized communities. It would address both the justice issues along with the business issues.
Seventy percent of the comments made to the DEA were in favor of descheduling.
