“No one should go to jail for smoking weed,” the vice president said.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday called on the federal government to move “as quickly as possible” to change the way it officially classifies marijuana, saying that “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.”

“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “We need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment. This issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin ― as dangerous as heroin ― and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd, not to mention patently unfair.”

Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. That classification designates it one of the most dangerous drugs possible, with no medicinal uses. Other substances in the same category include heroin, ecstasy and LSD. Marijuana advocates have been pushing for years for the federal government to either reschedule marijuana to a different category or deschedule it entirely.

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
    1·
    8 months ago

    Harris oversaw more than 1,900 marijuana convictions in San Francisco, previously unreported records from the DA’s office show. Her prosecutors appear to have convicted people on marijuana charges at a higher rate than under her predecessor, based on data about marijuana arrests in the city.

    As the political winds blow with her I guess. At least it’s a positive change.

    • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      8 months ago

      As an AG, it was her role to uphold the law and bring forward prosecutions.

      I’m recognizing positive change, which is an option now with her new role

      Edit I’ll also acknowledge it’s an election year and this is a popular topic TOO

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      8 months ago

      Eh.

      That was when it went from jail to a fine though.

      So lots of people stopped giving a shit and started smoking publicly.

      And she’s been pro legalization for years now.

      There’s lots of shit to criticize Biden and Harris on, but Harris’s time as a DA and her cannabis conviction just isn’t a good one.

      • ArcRay@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        1·
        8 months ago

        “Under Harris, the D.A.'s office obtained more than 1,900 convictions for marijuana offenses, including persons simultaneously convicted of marijuana offenses and more serious crimes.[73] The rate at which Harris’s office prosecuted marijuana crimes was higher than the rate under Hallinan, but the number of defendants sentenced to state prison for such offenses was substantially lower.[73] Prosecutions for low-level marijuana offenses were rare under Harris, and go her office had a policy of not pursuing jail time for marijuana possession offenses.”

        From her Wikipedia page (the reference is pay walled and im not invested enough to figure it out).