Los Angeles Times

Biden, at risk with young voters, is racing to shift marijuana policy

Members of the group Fourth of July Hemp Coalition gathered outside the White House for its annual protest on marijuana prohibition which the group said it dated back to more than 50 years ago during Nixon Administration.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris looked up from prepared remarks in the White House's ornate Roosevelt Room this month to make sure the reporters in the room could hear her clearly: "Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed."

Harris' "marijuana reform roundtable" was a striking reminder of how the politics have shifted for a onetime prosecutor raised in the "Just Say No" era of zero-tolerance drug enforcement. As President Biden seeks badly needed support from young people, his administration is banking on cannabis policy as a potential draw.

Biden made to Harris' in this month's State of the Union address — though the 81-year-old president used the term "marijuana" instead of "weed." The administration is highlighting its decision to grant clemency for pot possession as it races to

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