I'm so f-ing tired of cannabis professionals bashing Kamala Harris.
One of my latest posts at Leafwire received this comment from Theresa Yarbrough of the Georgia Cannabis Industry Alliance:
"Harris is pandering for votes. She's had nearly 4 years to do this. She's the queen of locking up marijuana users."
That's patently false.
Five years ago when I was editor of Freedom Leaf, Doug McVay and I teamed up on several investigative reports about Harris and her stances on cannabis.
Many believed, and may still believe, what Yarbrough wrote. It's just not true. These sorts of comments should not be coming from pro-cannabis people. It's straight out Trump's playbook on how to attack Harris. He's learned well from one of his aides-de-camp Tulsi Gabbard who stirred this up at a 2019 debate when she accused Harris of putting "over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations" from 2011-2016 when she was Attorney General of California.
In the Aug. 1, 2019 article, we provided real factual information about Harris, not BS:
It turns out the number Gabbard quoted from Free Beacon is incorrect and and is actually somewhat higher.
Seeking clarity on these numbers, Freedom Leaf requested public records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The request was approved on July 24.
Here’s what we discovered: The total number of people admitted to prison for felony marijuana offenses during Harris’ two terms as California’s attorney general from 2011-2016 was 1,876, not 1,560. Except for one year, the numbers the Free Beacon quoted are incorrect. The offenses include marijuana possession for sale, marijuana sales and other offenses such as cultivation and sales to minors.
The admission numbers from 2011-2016 are:
2011 – 817
2012 – 244
2013 – 210
2014 – 245
2015 – 183
2016 – 137
It’s important to note that, from the time Harris was elected AG to when she left office, admissions to prison for marijuana offenses in California declined by 83.2%.
Does that sound like "the queen of locking up marijuana users?" Of course not. But people insist on repeating Gabbard's lie and now Trump's and others. Anything to sway gullible voters who don't dig any deeper than what they see in a TV ad or a Trump rally statement
Harris is clearly a legalizer. She's endorsed the MORE Act and this week her campaign posted: "Nobody should go to jail for smoking weed. Kamala Harris will legalize recreational marijuana." Trump will never say that, unless it suits him politically with voters. Look not further than his support of Amendment 3 in Florida.
No one should go to jail for smoking weed. pic.twitter.com/D932NCGmPP
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 15, 2024
In WeedWeek's endorsement of Harris, Alex Halperin writes:
Harris is a former prosecutor whose record has left some grudges in the cannabis world, though she has also been a target of misinformation about how aggressively she prosecuted marijuana offenders.
Halperin links to the BET article, No, Kamala Harris Did Not Lock Up Thousands of Black Men for Marijuiana and Other Lies Debunked.
All cannabis activists and industry people should support and vote for VP Harris. And stop spreading vicious lies that could hurt her chances of winning.
Here's an article I wrote in 2020: Why I Like Kamala Harris.
MORE ELECTION 2024 LINKS
• Multiple States Voting on Cannabis Measures
