Nobody should be a one-issue voter in 2024 unless that one issue is preserving democracy and the rule of law (or, perhaps, destroying those things if that\u2019s your bag). But even if you insist on voting solely on cannabis reform, you have to vote for Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Harris included legalizing adult-use (she used the word \u201crecreational\u201d) weed in a statement right alongside her other top priorities, reiterating what she has said in recent interviews and signaling that she sees legalization as being right up there with clean-energy initiatives, expanding Medicare and protecting reproductive rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The list contains 14 items in all. In presenting it on social media, Harris said, \u201cTrump has an enemies list. I have a to-do list.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocates of cannabis reform had previously been nervous about Harris, perhaps understandably given that, as San Francisco district attorney and later as attorney general, she prosecuted people for cannabis, sometimes zealously. On the other hand, most of those people had committed other crimes or had long rap sheets that included violence. And after all, weed was illegal, and her job was law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She came out in favor of federal legalization when she became a U.S. senator, and that\u2019s been her position ever since. But advocates\u2019 nervousness returned when she became vice president, and basically clammed up about the issue, no doubt mainly because her boss, President Joe Biden, was ill-disposed to the idea. But as he has on several issues, Biden finally came around to favoring at least decriminalization, and indicating his openness to legalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once she hit the campaign trail in July, she put pot reform back squarely on her agenda, and has brought it up a bunch of times. About 70 percent of Americans now support full, nationwide legalization, and Harris knows that for a not-tiny number of them, it\u2019s a very important issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s particularly true of younger voters, who might look askance at Harris\u2019s positions on issues like Israel\u2019s war on Gaza or her conservative-leaning border policies. Championing pot reform is kind of a no-brainer, and Harris is the candidate in this race with a fully functioning brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what does this mean for the chances of actual reform? That depends on the congressional races. If Democrats take both houses of Congress, it seems likely that weed will be legalized within a matter of months. But at the moment, that seems unlikely (though perhaps less so than many seem to think, now that \u201cthe Republican Party is fascist\u201d has in recent weeks become something like conventional wisdom).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The consensus among election forecasters, many of whom like it when there\u2019s a tight race (and some of whom are just downright goofy), say the Democrats\u2019 chances of taking over the Senate are pretty low. And even if they win the Senate back, they almost certainly won\u2019t have a filibuster-proof majority, which means the Republicans will get to put the kibosh on any legalization bill that comes before them, just as they\u2019ve been doing throughout the Biden administration. Harris has talked about filibuster reform, but at this point, there\u2019s nothing for anyone to hang their hopes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the meantime, states across the land are continuing to legalize. If voters approve any of the legalization initiatives in North Dakota, South Dakota or Florida, at least half the states will have legal, adult-use weed next year (the count is currently 24), while 38 states (and possibly Nebraska, which has medical-pot measures on its ballot this year) will have legal medical marijuana. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania state legislature is weighing a bill to legalize by statute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Florida measure is interesting for a couple of reasons. Foremost, it requires a
\u201cyes\u201d vote of at least 60%. Recent polls indicate that the measure is likely to pass (one has 66% of respondents favoring it). Also, the measure, Amendment 13, is notable for inspiring Florida man Donald Trump to weigh in on cannabis policy. He says he\u2019ll vote yes. Which, good, but Trump tends to capitulate to Republicans, so his vote will mean nothing if he wins the presidency and legalization lands on his desk (and of course, we\u2019ll have all kinds of other problems to deal with if he wins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know for a fact, however, that President Harris would sign such a bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nobody should be a one-issue voter in 2024 unless that issue is preserving democracy and the rule of law (or destroying them if that\u2019s your bag).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20177759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[10633],"tags":[230,15274,315,1043,17114,15328,12575,15275,11159],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n