Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential candidate, marking the first time in U.S. history that both members of a major party’s presidential ticket openly support the legalization of marijuana.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Kamala Harris, a former US senator and attorney general from California, has long been a vocal advocate for marijuana reform. During her tenure in the Senate, she co-sponsored the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would have descheduled marijuana at the federal level, and expunge certain cannabis-related convictions. Although she opposed legalization as attorney general, Harris announced her support for legalizing marijuana in 2019, a stance that has remained consistent ever since.
Earlier this year Harris said “we need to legalize marijuana“, becoming the first vice president to ever declare support for legalization while in office.
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota has for years been a strong proponent of marijuana legalization. In 2019, Walz directed state agencies to prepare for the legalization of recreational marijuana, emphasizing the need for a regulated market and the potential economic benefits. In the subsequent years, he supported legislation to legalize marijuana for everyone 21 and older, culminating in his signing of House Bill 100 in May 2023, making Minnesota the 23rd state to legalize marijuana.
The Harris-Walz ticket’s unified stance on marijuana legalization signifies a significant shift in the political landscape. Prior to this election, although several nominees have supported decriminalizing marijuana, neither a Democratic nor Republican nominee has supported legalization as Kamala Harris does. Now, the ticket is the first to have both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates supporting marijuana legalization. This alignment reflects growing public support for marijuana reform and underscores the Democratic Party’s commitment to addressing the issue at a national level. It also signifies that the party is acknowledging the majority of voters who want marijuana to be legal; for example, a nationwide Fox News poll released in May found that 69% of voters support legalization.
