According to a recent radio interview, Senator Kamala Harris (Democrat-CA) has highlighted her support for legalizing marijuana on a federal level.
The senator, who is considering a run for president in 2020, is one of the newest officials to call for marijuana legislation.
Harris acknowledged that she has smoked marijuana before in an interview with ‘The Breakfast Club’ morning radio show.
“I joke about it — half-joking — half my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?” Harris said.
“I did inhale,” the California Democrat admitted while laughing. “It was a long time ago.”
Also according to what’s written in her new book, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” the Senator states:
“Something else it’s past time we get done is dismantling the failed war on drugs—starting with legalizing marijuana.”
“We need to legalize marijuana and regulate it,” Harris also wrote. “And we need to expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.”
The former state attorney general of California believes officials need to “invest in a solution” to impaired driving issues. There are currently no available reliable breathalyzer-like device for cannabis.
Harris believes that due to the marijuana’s restrictive Schedule I status, not enough research has been done on its effects.
Harris remarked, “We also need to stop treating drug addiction like a public safety crisis instead of what it is: a public health crisis.”
“When someone is suffering from addiction, their situation is made worse, not better, by involvement in the criminal justice system,” she added.
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