Harris Needs To ‘Follow Through’ On Marijuana Legalization, Independent Presidential Candidate Cornel West Says

Cornel West, an independent 2024 presidential candidate, says Democrats need to “follow through” on federal marijuana reform.

At the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, West was asked about whether Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, should make ending the broader drug war a “centerpiece” of her agenda if elected. “Oh, absolutely,” he told Marijuana Moment. 

As far as marijuana legalization is concerned specifically, West said “they’ve gotta follow through on that.”

While Harris has advocated for legalization, as recently as March during a roundtable event with presidential marijuana pardon recipients, President Joe Biden has maintained opposition to that broader reform, despite the fact that the vast majority of voters in his party support it.

What advocates and stakeholders are pressuring the administration to follow through on, however, is a proposal to reschedule cannabis. The Justice Department has formally recommended moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) following a review directed by Biden in late 2022.

West’s own campaign site said ending the drug war would mark a “departure from punitive measures that have only served to perpetuate cycles of despair and incarceration.”

“It’s a movement towards compassion, understanding, and healing, addressing the root causes of drug use through support and treatment,” it says.

Meanwhile, a Democratic senator separately told Marijuana Moment at the Democratic National Convention this week that if Harris is elected president this November, she will “be ready to sign” marijuana reform bills into law. Other lawmakers similarly predicted more momentum on cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels under a Harris-Walz administration.

While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) 2024 platform that was formally approved on Monday omitted an explicit endorsement of decriminalization, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said he still backs the party document because of its focus on civil liberties, which he says transfers to cannabis. The platform also touted Biden’s marijuana pardons and rescheduling directive, while calling for expungements.

Separately, former President Donald Trump recently indicated that he’s coming around to the idea of decriminalization in light of the growing state legalization movement.

Before Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign played into the contrasting cannabis policy positions under Trump, with multiple email blasts and online advertisements that framed the incumbent as the better choice for those who support cannabis reform. Since Harris ascended to the top of the ticket, however, her campaign has been silent on marijuana policy issues.

Observers are also awaiting a formal statement from Trump about where he stands on a recreational legalization measure that will be on the November ballot in Florida, where he’s a resident, after he said he’s increasingly open to decriminalization amid the state-level legalization movement.

Harris has a more defined position on cannabis issues heading into the election. While critics, including Trump, have been quick to point to her prosecutorial record on marijuana, she’s also sponsored a comprehensive legalization bill in the Senate and called for legalization as recently as March during a closed-door meeting with cannabis pardon recipients.

Meanwhile, Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.

As president, Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed.

While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to codify federal policy respecting states’ rights to legalize.

That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider that prohibits the Justice Department from using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs.

DNC has separately played up the Biden-Harris administration’s marijuana reform platform on social media—but it’s received some pushback after suggesting that cannabis has already been rescheduled and that the country’s “failed approach” to marijuana has now ended.

Separately, a series of recent polls found widespread majority support for cannabis legalization, federal rescheduling and marijuana industry banking access among likely voters in three key presidential battleground states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The LCB contributed reporting from Chicago.

New York Governor Touts State’s ‘Smokin’ Hot Marijuana Sales, With ‘All-Time High’ Of Half A Billion Dollars In Purchases

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.