Kamala Harris urges thousands to get their marijuana records expunged with Fat Joe: VP and rapper to host roundtable after Biden calls for pot classification review
- Kamala Harris will moderate a discussion on criminal reform efforts surrounding marijuana use and possession
- Biden stated during the State of the Union that no one should go to jail for using marijuana
- TThe Biden-Harris campaign sees the event as a way to attract young voters and people of color
Vice President Kamala Harris will host an event at the White House on Friday with rapper Fat Joe highlighting the importance of marijuana sentencing reform.
The vice president is hosting a roundtable to discuss reform efforts, including ways to lift sentences and sentences for people serving prison sentences for using or possessing the drug.
Harris is leading the meeting despite a long history of prosecuting marijuana users and possessors as San Francisco’s district attorney and enforcing laws criminalizing marijuana when she was California’s attorney general.
Harris will host a discussion on marijuana at the White House
Rapper Fat Joe will attend the event to discuss the consequences of criminal conviction for marijuana use and possession
The rally is seen as part of widespread marijuana reform by the Biden campaign as it seeks to motivate young voters and people of color ahead of the 2024 elections.
The Biden administration has already taken steps to reclassify marijuana at the federal level from a schedule one drug to schedule three, making it easier for the marijuana industry to sell legally.
During his State of the Union address last week, Biden called on the administration to begin expunging thousands of convictions for marijuana use or possession.
“No one should be in jail for simply using it or having it in their name,” Biden said.
The event will highlight individuals who benefited from Biden’s 2022 pardons for individuals with federal marijuana convictions.
Harris will also meet with Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D), who signed legislation last year to legalize medical marijuana in the state. Beshear is now Push to expand the range of medical conditions so people in the state can legally use the drug.
Fat Joe will address attendees at the Power To The Patient Event on Tuesday, March 5
Gov. Kentucky’s Andy Beshear will join Kamala Harris for the roundtable discussion at the White House
President Joe Biden has gradually embraced the idea of easing penalties for marijuana users
Harris has a long history of opposing the recreational use of marijuana until the political environment made it acceptable.
As District Attorney of San Francisco, Harris supervised 1,900 convictions for marijuana violations.
While running for attorney general, Harris opposed a ballot proposal in California in 2010 that would legalize marijuana.
Harris publicly admitted to smoking marijuana in college during her 2020 presidential campaign and supported making it legal at the federal level.
“I think it brings joy to a lot of people and we need more joy,” she said during a interview with the radio program The Breakfast Club.
Harris used her Jamaican heritage to defend her position on legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
“Look, I joke about it, I’ve joked about it. Half my family is from Jamaica, are you kidding me?” she laughed.