Kamala Harris’ Plan for Marijuana Backed by Young Republicans

Vice President Kamala Harris announced on the All the Smoke podcast Monday morning that she wants to legalize marijuana use, marking the first time she affirmed her support since launching her presidential campaign.

“I just feel strongly that people should not be going to jail for smoking weed,” Harris said. “We know historically what that has meant and who has gone to jail.”

The Democratic nominee emphasized on basketball stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that this has been a priority for her for a long time. The duo’s podcast often discusses weed, especially around the medicinal and therapeutic uses of the drug for pro-athletes.

“We have come to a point where we have to understand that we have to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior,” Harris said. “This is not a new position for me. I have felt for a long time that we have to legalize this behavior.”

And this sentiment is not lost on many young Republicans. According to data released in March by the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of Republicans ages 18 to 20 favor making marijuana legal for medical and recreational use. Among older Republicans, 52 percent of those aged 30 to 49 shared similar sentiments.

Overall, 42 percent of Republicans favor legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use. There are wide majorities of Republicans in all age groups who favor legalizing marijuana, at least for medical use.

For Democrats, 72 percent of the party believes marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use. According to Pew, 81 percent of Democrats ages 18 to 20 believe marijuana should be legal for both purposes, and 53 percent of Democrats 75 and older believe so as well.

Hispanic and Asian adults are more likely than Black and white adults to say legalizing recreational marijuana will have negative impacts on safety. In addition, 45 percent of Black, 41 percent of white. 39 percent of Hispanic and 38 percent of Asian adults said legalization would make the criminal system fairer.

As a senator, Harris introduced legislation to legalize the drug nationwide and expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses. While running for president in 2019, Harris called for the expunging of nonviolent marijuana-related criminal offenses as well.

On April 20, this year, Harris posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”

“We must continue to change our nation’s approach to marijuana while reforming the justice system, so it finally lives up to its name,” Harris posted.

Even still, as San Francisco district attorney and California’s attorney general, Harris was criticized for aggressively prosecuting marijuana-related crimes. She spoke against Proposition 19, a 2010 ballot measure that failed in the Golden State which would have legalized and regulated marijuana.

While Harris made her stance clear on the podcast Monday, Governor Tim Walz dodged a question about marijuana earlier this month. He deferred the issue in an interview with Spectrum News as a matter for Congress.

Earlier this month, Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social that”it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.”

“As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November,” Trump posted on September 8. “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.”