Vice President Harris speaks at a roundtable on marijuana reform that integrated rapper Fats Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

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Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

Vice President Harris speaks at a roundtable on marijuana reform that integrated rapper Fats Joe and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Kent Nishimura/AFP by way of Getty Photographs

Vice President Harris on Friday advised the Drug Enforcement Management to paintings as temporarily as imaginable on its evaluation of whether or not to reschedule marijuana as a less-dangerous drug.

Harris made her feedback all through a roundtable dialog about marijuana reform with rapper Fats Joe, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and a number of other individuals who have won pardons for prior marijuana convictions.

“No person must have to visit prison for smoking weed,” Harris mentioned, framing the problem of marijuana reform as a legal justice factor that disproportionately hurts Black and Latino males.

This was once a marketing campaign promise from 2019

Throughout his 2019 marketing campaign, Biden pledged he would decriminalize marijuana and expunge prior convictions for pot use. He mentioned he would enhance legalization for clinical use — however depart selections about leisure use as much as the states.

Biden has pardoned folks convicted of easy ownership below federal regulation and D.C. statute — even though nearly all of convictions occur on the state degree. Harris praised Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for addressing the problem in his state, and inspired different states to observe his lead.

Marijuana is recently labeled as a Time table I drug — as risky as heroin — which Harris known as “absurd” and “unfair.” Throughout his marketing campaign, Biden mentioned he would reschedule it.

In 2022, weeks ahead of the midterm elections, Biden introduced that he had requested Well being and Human Services and products and the Justice Division to check that classification. HHS completed its phase of the evaluation remaining 12 months, however the DEA has no longer.

“I can’t emphasize sufficient that they wish to get to it as temporarily as imaginable, and we wish to have a answer according to their findings and their evaluate,” Harris mentioned on Friday.

Biden discussed the problem in his State of the Union cope with

Biden discussed marijuana reform in his State of the Union cope with, pronouncing “Nobody must be jailed for the usage of or possessing marijuana.”

The problem polls specifically neatly with younger electorate — a demographic that has turn out to be much less enthused about Biden particularly over the way in which he has treated Israel’s battle in Gaza.

Marijuana reform additionally got here up this week in Milwaukee, when Biden toured his birthday celebration’s marketing campaign headquarters for Wisconsin. One supporter held up an indication praising Biden for his point out of the problem within the State of the Union.

“I am taking good care of that,” Biden mentioned.