On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris became the first major presidential candidate to endorse the federal legalization of cannabis, pledging to ensure “the safe cultivation, distribution and possession of recreational marijuana is the law of the land.” Though many states have legalized cannabis and its marijuana extracts, the drug still remains illegal at the federal level.

The declaration was made in an “Opportunity Agenda” designed to support Black men that also includes plans to improve access to addiction treatment and other medications. It also states Harris would provide forgivable loans for Black business owners along with opportunities for the Black community to participate as a “national cannabis industry takes shape.”

The agenda, released at a Black-owned business in Erie, Pennsylvania, appears to be part of a larger strategy to appeal to Black voters that also included a campaign stop in Detroit. There, Harris was interviewed by radio host Charlamagne tha God, whose morning hip-hop show, “The Breakfast Club,” has a weekly audience of 4.5 million listeners.

“I will work on decriminalizing [cannabis] because I know exactly how those laws have been used to disproportionately impact certain populations and specifically Black men,” Harris said during the interview Tuesday.

Related

The campaign push comes after a New York Times/Siena College poll found that, although Harris had increased support among Black voters after President Biden dropped out of the race, she still trailed behind the proportion of Black voters that Biden had to win the election in 2020 by about 10 percentage points. Meanwhile, the number of Black voters pledging support for Trump has increased to 15 percentage points from nine in the 2020........

© Salon