The vice president of the United States and Democratic candidate for the White House, Kamala Harrisassured this Tuesday that will work to legalize recreational marijuanain an attempt to mobilize African-American men who are, in some cases, leaning toward the former president donald trump.
“I will work to decriminalize the recreational use of marijuana because we know how those policies have disproportionately affected black men“Harris said in an interview with African-American broadcaster Charlamagne tha God in Detroit, Michigan.
Harris has stressed that no one should go to jail for possession of cannabis and recalled that, when she was district attorney in San Francisco (2004-2011) and attorney general of California (2011-2017), she was seen as “progressive” for not sending individuals to prison for simple possession of marijuana.
The vice president has led efforts in the current Administration to ensure that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reclassify marijuanawhich until now was considered as addictive as LSD or heroin.
That classification, which categorized marijuana as a highly addictive drug, led for years to harsher sentences for those who consumed or sold it, resulting in disproportionate incarceration of Hispanic and African American minorities.
Currently, recreational use of marijuana is legal in 24 states and the District of Columbia, home of the capital Washington. Additionally, 38 of the 50 states allow its medicinal use, although it remains illegal in some states and at the federal level.
Reparate the debt for slavery
During the interview, Harris also spoke about reparations for the African-American community as a way to repair the historical damage caused by slavery.
When one of the listeners asked him if he supported that measure, a historical claim of the black communityHarris responded that the issue should be studied. “It is something that must be analyzed. I have no doubts about that. My position has always been clear,” he said.
With 20 days left until the election, Harris is seeking to reach out to the black community, at a time when polls suggest some African-American men could lean toward Trump or decide not to vote.
Harris and other party leaders are trying to confront that phenomenon and recover an electorate that has traditionally voted Democratic. In fact, last week, the former president Barack Obama addressed a group of African-American men at a Harris campaign office in Pittsburgh.
Obama asks to trust Harris
Obama pointed out that some “brothers” seemed to have difficulty voting for a woman and that support for Harris was less than what he received when he ran for office, so he urged them to support the vice president and go out and vote.
On Monday, Harris presented a plan with specific measures for African-American menwhich includes providing one million loans to Black entrepreneurs, protecting cryptocurrency assets, and investing more in training and credentialing programs in Black communities.
The plan also includes more investments in the study of diseases that disproportionately affect African American men, such as prostate cancer or diabetes.
