The nationwide push to decriminalize marijuana is getting another boost as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris joins with House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler to introduce a new bill that would do just that. The bill, like a previous bill sponsored by fellow Democratic contender Sen. Cory Booker and co-sponsored by candidates Bennet, Gillibrand, Sanders, Warren, and Harris herself, would also erase past marijuana convictions.
Harris was a latecomer to deregulation efforts, opposing past attempts as California attorney general, but reversed her position in the runup to her presidential bid.
This means that the majority of top-tier presidential contenders on the Democratic side now support decriminalization. (Former Vice President Joe Biden has also called for decriminalization, but not legalization; his plan calls for a federal reclassification of marijuana as a "schedule 2" drug rather than "schedule 1," recognizing the drug to have legitimate medical uses.)
All decriminalization efforts are likely to be dead on arrival in the Republican-held Senate, however. The bills primarily serve as statements hashing out how Democratic lawmakers intend to pursue decriminalization, and to what extent, if the ranks of archconservative Senate Republicans are thinned out in future elections.