PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:
Shot: “And speaking of the system of justice, we are also changing — y’all might have heard that this week — the federal government’s approach to marijuana. (Applause.) Because the bottom line there is: Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed. (Applause.)”
—“Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Keynote Address at the 2022 Texas Democratic Party Johnson-Jordan Reception,” the White House, today.
Chaser:
Kamala Harris’ opponents and critics have picked apart her prosecution of marijuana crimes during her presidential run, knocking her for over-aggressive jailing of pot users and lambasting her as a hypocrite for saying she now supports legalizing the drug.
But Harris’ history of prosecuting marijuana cases as San Francisco district attorney is more nuanced than those debate-stage confrontations indicate, according to new data obtained by the Bay Area News Group and interviews with more than a dozen former prosecutors, defense attorneys, criminal justice experts and activists who’ve been following her career.
Harris oversaw more than 1,900 marijuana convictions in San Francisco, previously unreported records from the DA’s office show. Her prosecutors appear to have convicted people on marijuana charges at a higher rate than under her predecessor, based on data about marijuana arrests in the city.
—“Campaign fact check: Here’s how Kamala Harris really prosecuted marijuana cases,” the San Jose Mercury, September 11th, 2019.
Hangover:
Vice President Kamala Harris’ record of securing convictions for marijuana-related offenses could be put back into the spotlight after President Joe Biden pardoned people convicted of simple possession under federal law.
Biden took the decision to grant the pardons on Thursday and also asked the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general to “expeditiously” review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
However, the move will not affect the nearly 2,000 people who were convicted while Harris was San Francisco district attorney (DA) because those convictions were not made at the federal level.
—“Biden’s Marijuana Pardons Don’t Cover Hundreds Kamala Harris Had Convicted,” Newsweek, Friday.