If Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president this November, she will \u201cbe ready to sign\u201d marijuana reform bills into law, a Democratic senator says, as other lawmakers similarly predict more momentum on cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels under a Harris-Walz administration.<\/p>\n
In a series of interviews at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates ceremonially nominated Harris on Tuesday, Democratic members discussed the future of marijuana policy with a first-ever fully pro-legalization administration\u2014as well as their concerns about what might happen if former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, ultimately prevails.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she\u2019ll be very supportive\u201d of cannabis reform, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), sponsor of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that leadership is aiming to advance, told Marijuana Moment. \u201cIf we can get these bills through, she\u2019ll be ready to sign them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about his own predictions for marijuana reform under a Harris-Walz administration, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said he believes having them in the White House would embolden more states to take action on issues of \u201cprivate liberty\u201d such as cannabis legalization.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that we\u2019ll have a chance to work with the new administration\u201d on advancing marijuana reform, he added. \u201cI have long felt that the Congress is lagging behind the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Democratic National Committee (DNC) 2024 platform that was formally approved on Monday<\/a> omitted an explicit endorsement of decriminalization, Wyden said he still backs the party document because of its focus on civil liberties, which he says transfers to cannabis. The platform also touted President Joe Biden\u2019s marijuana pardons and rescheduling directive, while calling for expungements.<\/p>\n Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) told Marijuana Moment he thinks that if cannabis rescheduling goes through, as the Justice Department has proposed, that is going to be \u201cpowerful electorally\u201d for the Harris-Walz ticket.<\/p>\n Also, while Trump recently indicated that he\u2019s coming around to the idea of decriminalization<\/a> in light of the growing state legalization movement, Schatz said voters \u201cdon\u2019t have to wonder what Donald Trump would be like about marijuana\u201d based on his prior administration\u2019s record, which the senator described as \u201cawful.\u201d That included appointing an attorney general who rescinded federal cannabis guidance that had generally urged federal prosecutors to use discretion when dealing with state-legal marijuana activity.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem for Trump is that nobody believes him, and we have four years of his policy,\u201d Schatz said. \u201cOf course he\u2019s going to say whatever is popular now, but when in doubt, he will do whatever the [conservative think tank] Heritage Foundation tells him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) said while he doesn\u2019t necessarily believe marijuana legalization will be at the \u201ctop\u201d of a Harris-Walz agenda, their respective backgrounds nonetheless bode well for reform.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the sky is the limit with those two,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment. \u201cThey\u2019re going to govern very effectively on all of the issues that we need to address.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure that Kamala Harris, when it comes to issues of cannabis legalization\u2014or at least decriminalization\u2014will be on the right side of public sector,\u201d Johnson added. \u201cThe election of Tim Walz as vice president and Kamala Harris as president will herald a new day in America.\u201d<\/p>\n He also echoed Schatz\u2019s point about the Republican nominee, arguing that \u201ceverybody knows that you can\u2019t depend on Donald Trump\u2019s word,\u201d including his recent remarks signaling support for decriminalization.<\/p>\n Asked whether he feels Harris should publicly advocate for marijuana legalization, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said, \u201cI think everybody should.\u201d It wouldn\u2019t just be good for the Democratic party, he said, it would \u201cbe good for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) similarly said he would promote broader legalization if he was in Harris\u2019s shoes, but \u201cthat\u2019s just me.\u201d He said he doesn\u2019t feel that cannabis reform is \u201cthe major issue of this campaign,\u201d but it\u2019s nonetheless \u201cthe right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he thinks it would \u201cmake some sense\u201d for Harris to advocate for reform that goes beyond the current administration\u2019s rescheduling push. For now, however, he said it\u2019s \u201cmost important\u201d for Congress to enact cannabis banking legislation, an incremental proposal that he says has the votes for passage.<\/p>\n Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) also told Marijuana Moment that the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act that moved through the Senate Banking Committee last September \u201cmakes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten close a couple of times on it and\u2026I think we\u2019re going to get it done eventually,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, before Biden dropped out of the race, his campaign played into the contrasting cannabis policy positions under Trump<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n Observers are also awaiting a formal statement from Trump about where he\u00a0stands on a recreational legalization measure that will be on the November ballot in Florida<\/a>, where he\u2019s a resident, after he said he\u2019s\u00a0increasingly open to decriminalization amid the state-level legalization movement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Harris has a more defined position on cannabis issues heading into the election. While critics, including Trump,\u00a0have been quick to point to her prosecutorial record on marijuana<\/a>, she\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Harris has selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed<\/a>.<\/p>\n While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to\u00a0codify federal policy respecting states\u2019 rights to legalize<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he\u00a0reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider<\/a>\u00a0that prohibits the Justice Department from\u00a0using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n DNC has\u00a0separately played up the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s marijuana reform platform<\/a>\u00a0on social media\u2014but it\u2019s received some pushback after suggesting that cannabis has already been rescheduled and that the country\u2019s \u201cfailed approach\u201d to marijuana has now ended.<\/p>\n Separately, a series of recent polls found\u00a0widespread majority support for cannabis legalization<\/a>, federal rescheduling and marijuana industry banking access among likely voters in three key presidential battleground states: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n The LCB<\/a> contributed reporting from Chicago.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n GOP Senators Claim Marijuana Is A \u2018Gateway Drug\u2019 As They Oppose Rescheduling And Legalization<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Senator Says Harris Will \u2018Be Ready To Sign\u2019 Marijuana Reform Bills If Elected President<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
If Vice President Kamala Harris is elected president this November, she will \u201cbe ready to sign\u201d marijuana reform bills into law, a Democratic senator says, as other lawmakers similarly predict more momentum on cannabis legalization at the state and federal levels under a Harris-Walz administration. In a series of interviewsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77493,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77492\/revisions\/77493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Senator Says Harris Will \u2018Be Ready To Sign\u2019 Marijuana Reform Bills If Elected President<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"