An e-mail sent yesterday by the reelection campaign for President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris says former-President Donald Trump “took marijuana reform backwards”.
“Today at the White House, Vice President Harris hosted Kim Kardashian and others to hold a roundtable discussion on criminal justice reform”, begins the e-mail. “It comes after last month’s White House discussion on marijuana reform, led by Vice President Harris.”
The e-mail says the administrations stances on criminal justice is in “stark contrast with the Trump administration’s failures on criminal justice reform”, including:
- Crime: Under Trump, America was less safe. Violent crime rose and murder increased 29.4% in 2020.
- Commutations and Pardons: Trump granted fewer commutations and pardons than nearly any modern president – and many of the crony grants he did give went to well-connected offenders and “an orgy of pardons for politically connected business moguls, real estate barons and disgraced former members of Congress.” Trump himself openly acknowledged mega-donors made his pardon decisions.
- Sentencing Reform: Trump’s own administration blocked implementation of sentencing reform he brags about. His Department of Justice sought to reincarcerate an inmate Trump touted at the White House for the bill signing. And under Trump, the Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to unnecessarily charge offenses with mandatory minimums and sought to undo justice reform.
- Marijuana: Trump and his administration took marijuana reform backwards, withdrawing guidelines to limit prosecutions of marijuana offenses that were legal under state laws.
- Policing: Trump has said he would instruct police officers to shoot shoplifters. As president, he inflamed tensions between the police and the communities they serve. He insisted police departments use “stop and frisk” and sought to block local police reform. His administration also reduced oversight of police departments and repeatedly proposed cutting funding for local police departments and combating illicit drug flows.
- Trump’s Project 2025 agenda: Pardon violent January 6th rioters while worsening racial inequity in the justice system, prosecute his political opponents, and criminalize abortion.
“On criminal justice, the contrast couldn’t be clearer: while Trump talks about pardoning January 6th rioters and celebrating violence, Vice President Harris and President Biden are giving a second chance to people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses”, says Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer.
It’s notable for the campaign to point out that Trump withdrew “guidelines to limit prosecutions of marijuana offenses that were legal under state laws”, given the Biden/Harris Administration has not reinstated these guidelines, initially put in place under the Obama Administration.
Currently the DEA is conducting a review of marijuana’s scheduling status, prompted by a Department of Health recommendation (that itself was prompted by an executive order from President Biden).
