Vice President Kamala Harris appeared surprised Tuesday after she learned that a special variety of marijuana had been named after her, even as she has a record of sending marijuana smokers to jail.
Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel revealed the details to the vice president of the strain of marijuana named ‘Kamala Kush.’
“Really? Seriously? I did not know that,” she replied, laughing.
Alibi Cannabis in Oregon lists the variety as ‘earthy and grounding’ and contains ‘a unique flavor for an active high.’
Kimmel said he was surprised that the developers of the strain had not sent her a sample, but Harris said she was not interested.
‘I’m not touching that,’ she replied laughing.
Harris repeated her new-found position that marijuana users should not be prosecuted and sent to jail.
‘Look, I think we both agree, people shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed,’ Harris said.
However, as a District Attorney in San Francisco, Harris prosecuted more than 1,900 marijuana convictions.
Harris has since endorsed legalizing marijuana despite opposing a 2010 California ballot measure that would legalize recreational use of the drug for adults.
During her interview with Kimmel, Harris denounced previous efforts to stop people from using marijuana.
‘There was a time people would say, marijuana is a gateway drug,’ Harris continued. ‘These are failed policies, right?’
Harris said the resources used by law enforcement to enforce marijuana laws should be redirected toward counseling.
‘The resources should be better directed and will be better directed to deal with opioid addiction and what we need to do around fentanyl,’ she said.
‘Getting more resources into mental health and mental health care, right? That’s a smarter way.’
Marijuana activists remain critical of Harris, who finally endorsed the idea of legal marijuana in 2018 just prior to her failed presidential campaign.
‘Listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy,’ she said in 2019, pivoting on her previous stance on legalizing the drug.
Harris hosted rapper Fat Joe at the White House in February for an event to talk about the problem of incarcerating marijuana users.
‘She absolutely has no moral authority to speak on this issue whatsoever,’ marijuana legal reform advocate Steve DeAngelo told the DailyMail.com at the time.
During Harris’ campaign, she celebrated her use of marijuana in college in an interview with Charlemagne the God on The Breakfast Club.
‘I have. And I inhaled. I did inhale,’ she said, admitting to smoking ‘a joint.’ ‘It was a long time ago, but yes.’