Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said in her new book that she believes the use of marijuana should be legal.
“Something else it’s past time we get done is dismantling the failed war on drugs — starting with legalizing marijuana,” Harris writes in The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, Forbes reported Tuesday.
“We need to legalize marijuana and regulate it,” Harris writes. “And we need to expunge nonviolent marijuana-related offenses from the records of millions of people who have been arrested and incarcerated so they can get on with their lives.”
Taking such a position on pot is increasingly popular. According a poll released in October, a record 62 percent of the public said they think marijuana use should be legalized.
Harris’ book, released Tuesday, is being interpreted by many political pundits as a soft 2020 presidential campaign launch. The former California attorney general and now first-term senator from the Golden State will embark on a four-city book tour this week, while making TV appearances on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The View,” as well as CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
[Read: Kamala Harris sounds like a 2020 candidate: ‘I think this is that moment’]
Harris’ position on pot has pivoted from when she refused to support California’s cannabis legalization ballot measure, according to Forbes. Last year she announced that she would co-sponsor the Marijuana Justice Act introduced by fellow White House contender Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in 2017.
“It’s the smart thing to do. It’s the right thing to do. And I know this as a former prosecutor. I know it as a senator,” Harris said at the time. “The fact is marijuana laws are not applied and enforced the same way for all people. African-Americans use marijuana at roughly the same rate as whites, but are approximately four times more likely to be arrested for possession. That’s just not fair.”
Harris told reporters in December she would go public with her 2020 plans “over the holiday.”
