Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday that it is “absurd” and “patently unfair” that marijuana is treated the same as heroin and other Schedule I drugs – and more seriously than fentanyl – under federal law.
“Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd, not to mention patently unfair,” Harris said during a roundtable on the administration’s plans for cannabis reform. “I’m sure DEA is working as quickly as possible and will continue to do so and we look forward to the product of their work.”
The comments came at the roundtable at the White House as the Biden administration hopes that promoting changes long sought by criminal justice advocates will help build enthusiasm among Black voters, younger voters and a wider array of core Democratic constituencies.
Harris has been traveling the country to rouse the Democratic base about the prospect of voting for her and President Joe Biden a second time, including making appeals to younger voters.
The administration began the process of reconsidering how marijuana is treated under federal law just before the midterms in 2022. Biden pardoned all prior federal offenses for simple marijuana possession and encouraged all governors to pardon state offenses. The same year, Biden asked US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and the attorney general to begin the administrative process of reviewing how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
The vice president met with musician Fat Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear – and alluded to her own role in what she described as an unequal criminal justice system.
“I believe that the promise of America includes equal justice under the law. And for too many, our criminal justice system has failed to live up to…
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