Kamala Harris on Drugs Democratic candidate for President (withdrawn); California Senator

Will get rid of cash bail and decriminalize marijuana

Opposed marijuana legalization, but currents have changed

HARRIS: I made a decision that, if I was going to have the ability to reform the system, I would try to do it from the inside. And so I took on the position that allowed me, without asking permission, to create one of the first in the nation initiatives that was a model and became a national model around people who were arrested for drugs and getting them jobs. I created one of the first in the nation trainings for a police officer on the issue of racial bias and the need to reform the system.

SAFE Banking Act: Decriminalize marijuana finances

• Allow Cannabis Businesses To Use Banks
• Allow VA Doctors To Recommend Medical Cannabis
• Allow States To Legalize Medical Cannabis
• Allow States To Legalize Recreational Cannabis
• End Cannabis Prohibition At Federal Level
• Cosponsors the Marijuana Justice Act of 2019, which would end cannabis prohibition at the federal level, expunge federal cannabis convictions, and reinvest in the communities that have been most harmed by cannabis prohibition.
• Cosponsors the SAFE Banking Act of 2019, which would allow banks to provide services to cannabis businesses that are legal at the state level.
• Quote: "While I don't believe in legalizing all drugs--as a career prosecutor I just don't--we need to do the smart thing, the right thing, and finally decriminalize marijuana." (2017)
• Quote: "Instead of going after drug cartels, and violent crime, and major traffickers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is going after recreational marijuana users. That's not being smart on crime." (2018)

Legalize marijuana: it gives a lot of people joy

Harris also said she smoked a joint in college. "And I inhaled," she added, joking in reference to President Bill Clinton's comments on the campaign trail in 1992 that he smoked marijuana but "didn't inhale it."

When asked if she would smoke again if the federal government were to legalize the recreational use of the drug, Harris laughed and replied: "Listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy."

Harris said legalization would have to come with some caveats, emphasizing a need for research on the effects of marijuana on the developing brain and a means for regulating use of the drug while driving.

Dismantle War on Drugs; start with marijuana legalization

Opioid crisis requires emergency mobilization

This is a crisis that deserves a major federal mobilization. We need to declare a national state of emergency, which would provide more funding, right away, to help combat this disease--more resources to pay for addiction treatment, hospital services, skills training, and more.

We need to make sure that people who are addicted have access to medication-assisted-treatment (MAT)--drugs like buprenorphine which prevents withdrawal symptoms and cravings without producing the kind of high that heroin or OxyContin does. Many insurance companies will cover the cost of opioids while charging more than $200 a month for buprenorphine. That has to change. We have to change it.

Recognize the war on drugs was a failure

At the 2015 Democratic State Convention, here's what she said, "Standing up for the people means challenging the policy of mass incarceration by recognizing the war on drugs was a failure. Now is the time to end the federal ban on medical marijuana."

Harris' own pronouncements on cannabis have been evolving. Last fall she lashed out at feds' continued crackdowns in medical marijuana states, saying, "An overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine." Late last year, she also said she believed that recreational pot legalization in California was inevitable.

Back on Track: re-entry instead of incarceration for drugs

Back on Track worked. The re-offense rate for participants was 10%, compared to 54% for non-participants who had committed the same types of crime. Taxpayer savings were significant. The program cost less than $5,000 per person, compared to the $43,000 it cost to house an offender in jail for one year.

We were honored that the U.S. Department of Justice designated Back on Track as a model for law enforcement.7

Focus on combating transnational gangs

Deal with drug addiction in offenders, but still arrest them

And remember that many of these offenders are small players in the underground business of drug sales and trafficking, and therefore are closely linked with gangs, violence, and gun crimes. While we need to arrest and make all offenders accountable for their crimes, we are finding ways to transform the status quo approach that results in offense-arrest-jail-offense-arrest-jail--a pattern I sometimes call "synchronized drowning"--into a new path of accountability and reintegration that builds stronger, safer communities.

Co-sponsor of Marijuana Justice Act for legalization