New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Harris and rapper team up for talk on easing marijuana penalties
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and rapper Fat Joe led a White House discussion Friday on easing marijuana penalties, with Harris saying it’s “absurd” that the federal government classifies marijuana as more dangerous than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths annually the United States.
Harris, a former state prosecutor in California, said the federal classification of cannabis is “patently unfair.” The government currently is reviewing how it classifies marijuana, and Harris urged that the process be wrapped up as quickly as possible.
Fat Joe, a Grammy-nominated artist and philanthropist whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, moderated a subsequent closed-door discussion that included Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and individuals who received pardons for prior marijuana convictions.
President Joe Biden has issued pardons to thousands of people for federal marijuana possession and commuted long sentences handed down for nonviolent drug offenses. In 2022, he urged governors to pardon state offenses. Beshear then invited people convicted of simple marijuana possession to apply for pardons in Kentucky. Biden launched the process to review how marijuana is classified in 2022.
A full seven in 10 U.S. adults favor legalizing marijuana, according to Gallup polling. Support for legalization is closer to eight in 10 among 18- to 34year-olds, a demographic whose support for Biden, who is seeking reelection, has softened since he took office.
“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible and we need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment,” Harris said of the Departments of Health and Human Services
and Justice, which are handling the review.
“But this issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin,” she said during the public portion of the meeting.