VP Harris Will Meet Rapper Fat Joe And Others Pardoned By Biden For Cannabis Convictions To Discuss Criminal Justice Reforms

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to meet rapper Fat Joe and several people pardoned by the Biden administration for marijuana-related convictions for a White House public discussion about criminal justice reform, reported Reuters. A five-time Grammy nominee, Fat Joe is a proponent of criminal justice reform.

The meeting comes as Harris is busily reaching out to people of color and young voters to get her boss (and herself) elected for a second term amid concerns that cannabis policy reform seems to have been put on the back burner as we head into what will likely be a tight election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, now the only two contenders after Tuesday's primary in Georgia.

Biden Brings Up Cannabis In SOTU

Biden mentioned cannabis reform in his State of the Union speech last Thursday when he reiterated his stance that no one should be incarcerated for possessing cannabis.

“I am taking executive action on police reform and directing my cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana and expunging thousands of convictions for the mere possession of marijuana because no one should be jailed for simply using it or have it on their record," he said.

While the president's remarks provoked a swirl of commentary and praise inside and outside the cannabis community, some found them to be disingenuous.

“It's political malpractice to ignore the voters who got him here. Black and brown voters that are most affected by the War on Drugs resuscitated his failing presidential campaign following fourth and fifth place showings in New Hampshire and Iowa four years ago," Don Murphy, co-founder of the American Cannabis Collective told Benzinga in an email. "He promised that he would stop sending people to jail for simple possession, but the arrests continue, and he is keeping the War on Drugs alive and well.”

Earlier this year, the Vice President’s office initiated an outreach to those pardoned under the Oct. 2022 Biden pardon of federal cannabis offenders and again in December 2023. Harris’s aim at the time was to gain deeper insights into the pardon process.  

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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Lawrence Jackson via Wikimedia Commons and Alesia Kozik via Pexels