Tucked away inside 2020 Democrat Kamala Harris’ criminal justice plan is a proposal to give government subsidies to “socially and economically disadvantaged individuals” who wish to start their own marijuana business.
The California senator’s proposal, released Monday, describes how reforming the nation’s marijuana laws can help end “mass incarceration,” and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. One way to deal with that, Harris proposes, is to give federal dollars to states and localities so they can give loans for qualifying Americans interested in hopping onto the country’s partially-legalized agricultural sector.
“[Provide] states and localities with funds to make loans to assist small businesses in the marijuana industry that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,” Harris’ plan reads.
The funds used for these new grants would come from a “sales tax on marijuana and marijuana products.”
During her presidential run, Harris has come under scrutiny for her marijuana prosecution record as California’s attorney general. During her six years in office, at least 1,974 individuals were jailed for marijuana-related crimes. During the second Democratic debate, in July, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said she was “deeply concerned” by Harris’ role in that marijuana crackdown.
The plan comes as states are increasingly voting to legalize marijuana, including California. The drug remains strictly prohibited by federal law.
The Obama administration’s Justice Department largely took a hands-off approach to marijuana law enforcement. The Trump administration has cracked down to a degree, but states still largely have discretion to cultivate marijuana industries locally as they see fit.
Harris calls for the total legalization of marijuana in her criminal justice plan, as well as funding “for programs that minimize marijuana licensing and employment for the individuals most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.”
Individuals previously arrested for drug-related offenses would also qualify for grants that would help with “job training, re-entry services, [and] legal aid,” the plan states.
“So it is past time to end the failed war on drugs, and it begins with legalizing marijuana. Marijuana arrests account for over 50% of all drug arrests. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simple marijuana possession,” Harris’ plan reads. “Worse, despite roughly equal usage rates, Black people are about four times more likely than White people to be arrested for marijuana
