Psaki won't say why WH fired staff for pot when Harris is past user

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday declined to say why the White House fired staff for past marijuana use when Vice President Kamala Harris has talked openly about the fact that she too used to get high - referring instead to vague security service standards before growing visibly annoyed.

The White House terminated at least five staffers for past marijuana use, Psaki disclosed last week in response to a report that "Dozens" had been canned or given less severe discipline such as suspensions.

She declined to say why President Biden hasn't declared that staff can keep their jobs - despite pot use - given Harris' claim to have formerly used marijuana and the VP's statement in 2019 that "It gives a lot of people joy, we need more joy in the world."

She bristled at follow-up questions about why the president doesn't override security office decisions about staff in light of Harris' own past pot use and about the number of staff members who were disciplined but not fired.

Marijuana is federally illegal, but most states allow medical marijuana and 15 states, two US territories and the District of Columbia passed ballot measures or enacted laws that allow recreational marijuana.

Harris reportedly oversaw 1,900 marijuana prosecutions while she was San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011, before saying in 2019 that she was herself a former pot user.

On his final day as president, Donald Trump released two prisoners serving life without parole for marijuana under Biden's 1994 crime law.

https://nypost.com/2021/03/24/psaki-wont-say-why-wh-fired-staff-for-pot-when-harris-is-past-user/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=SocialFlow