Opponents have falsely attacked Vice President Kamala Harris on her history with marijuana enforcement and accused her of using her roles as a prosecutor to heavily prosecute marijuana-related activities, disproportionately targeting communities of color. For example, Former President Donald Trump has labeled Harris as “a prosecutor of Black people” and claimed “[Harris] put thousands and thousands of Black people in jail over marijuana.” Similarly, during the 2020 presidential campaign, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), then-Democratic presidential candidate and current Trump transition co-chair, claimed Harris “put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations.”
These claims are simply false and grossly mischaracterize Vice President Harris’ actual record on cannabis prosecution and the evolution of her position on marijuana legalization overall.
The evolution of Harris’ stance on marijuana policy
Nearly 9 in 10 U.S. adults agree that marijuana should be legalized either for medical or recreational use. Still, even as overall arrests have declined, Black people are nearly four times more likely than white people to be arrested for a marijuana-related offense, despite similar usage rates among both demographics. An arrest can carry long-term effects that limit opportunities such as stable housing, economic advancement, health care, and other life resources; when otherwise available, these resources can improve safety outcomes for not only those affected by the system but the overall public as well.
Marijuana policy reform is a priority
9 in 10
Share of U.S. adults who agree marijuana should be legalized either for medical or recreational use
4x
Increase in likelihood of Black people facing arrest for a marijuana-related offense compared with white people
Fortunately, Harris’ long-term record reflects the broader recognition that America’s decades-old war on drugs has done little to improve overall public safety. She has demonstrated that she understands these policies have led to harmful and targeted enforcement practices that have disproportionately devastated communities of color throughout the country.
The majority of marijuana cases prosecuted under Harris occurred during her role as the district attorney for San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. While her office prosecuted slightly more than 1,900 marijuana convictions during this time, most were downgraded to misdemeanor charges, if even charged at all, and very few were actually sent to state prison. In fact, as district attorney, Harris championed a policy that people should not serve jail time for a marijuana conviction, and her office often embraced alternative measures such as drug treatment programs for individuals with low-level convictions. Harris even launched the Back on Track reentry court program in 2005, which “aimed [to reduce] recidivism among low-level drug-trafficking defendants” and ultimately became a national model for other prosecutors. The program saw a less than 10 percent recidivism rate among its participants within a two-year period—a significant improvement over the general 53 percent recidivism rate among all individuals in California convicted of a drug offense during this same period.
In her role as California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017, Harris focused her resources on prosecuting more serious transnational and interstate drug trafficking organizations and was not responsible for prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses across the state, contrary to what Gabbard and others have claimed.
As senator from 2017 to 2021, Harris declared, “Times have changed – marijuana should not be a crime” and pushed for marijuana reform by calling for the legalization of recreational marijuana use; she even introduced a comprehensive federal legalization bill called the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act. Harris also co-sponsored other legalization measures, such as Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) Marijuana Justice Act of 2019.
Harris continues to advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana and for opportunities to support individuals with a drug conviction record.
Finally, as vice president, Harris continues to advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana and for opportunities to support individuals with a drug conviction record. In January, Harris announced a new rule that would remove lending restrictions for Small Business Administration loans based on an applicant’s arrest or conviction record. Additionally, after the Biden-Harris administration issued thousands of pardons for people convicted of federal marijuana charges and called on state governors to take similar action, Vice President Harris convened a roundtable with several of the pardon recipients and declared, “We need to legalize marijuana.” Harris is now the first presidential nominee of a major party to openly support the full legalization of marijuana.
Conclusion
Throughout her work as a career prosecutor, senator, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has worked to implement drug policies that embrace evidence-informed solutions to ultimately improve overall health and economic outcomes for affected individuals and strengthen the communities that have been most affected by rampant drug enforcement. She has proved to be a champion of racial justice throughout her career and continues to support efforts to legalize marijuana at the federal and state levels. Vice President Harris’ career has demonstrated a striking contrast to the misleading narrative that her opponents have touted.