Harris’ record as a prosecutor for San Francisco has become an issue that Donald Trump is trying to capitalize on. On Monday, Trump went on the Ingraham Angle on Fox News to try out the new attack.
“She was a bad prosecutor. She was a prosecutor of Black people. She put thousands and thousands of Black people in jail over marijuana. But when it came to big crime—murders and everything else—she was weak.”
So how true is all of this? As always, there’s way more nuance to it all.
Altogether, there were 1,956 convictions under Harris’ watch between 2004 and 2010 for misdemeanor and felony marijuana offenses. Of this number, only 45 went to state jail. More could have gone to county jail, but certainly nowhere near the number of convictions.
Paul Henderson, who ran the narcotics prosecutions under Harris, told Bay Area News Group that “Our policy was that no one with a marijuana conviction for mere possession could do any [jail time] at all.”
Then, Harris became the attorney general for California. While in this role, 1,560 people were sent to state jail over sale or possession with intent to sale convictions. That’s a much higher number, but not specifically overseen by her, considering her larger job position. Nonetheless, it was under her watch, and this is where Trump could find most of his attacks ringing true.
Ever since Harris was the DA in San Francisco, she had supported legal medical marijuana, but not recreational until just this year. She even campaigned against a ballot measure in 2010 that would legalize recreationally for California. That ballot initiative eventually passed in 2016.
So while Trump may not have been entirely accurate, the truth is in the nuance, and his attacks will certainly muddy the waters.
Read the original story at Marijuana Moment.
