Kamala Harris calls for legalization during White House cannabis discussion

Washington DC - Vice President Kamala Harris recently held an event where she advocated for marijuana to be re-classified and legalized.

On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris (c.) hosted a discussion at the White House regarding the possible rescheduling and legalization of marijuana.
On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris (c.) hosted a discussion at the White House regarding the possible rescheduling and legalization of marijuana.  © KENT NISHIMURA / AFP

On Friday, Harris hosted a discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House with a number of cannabis activists, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and rapper Fat Joe.

Harris, who is a former senator and prosecutor, railed against the fact that cannabis is still classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule I drug, which describes it as having "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

The classification has cannabis placed in the same category as more "hard" drugs.

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"Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd," Harris pointed out. "Not to mention patently unfair."

In 2022, President Joe Biden, who has expressed interest in legalizing it, ordered the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to review the drug's classification and possibly rule to reduce it to Schedule III, which would make it far less regulated and no longer be considered dangerous.

Harris said she believes the department's decision should come "as quickly as possible."

Biden will soon battle Donald Trump in the general election, and legalizing or rescheduling cannabis could help him in his re-election effort, as the vast majority of the country supports legalization.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Wavebreak Media Ltd, STEPHEN MATUREN / AFP, & IMAGO / Pond5 Images

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