'Half my family's from Jamaica!' Presidential candidate Kamala Harris looks to shatter 2020's grass ceiling as says she smoked marijuana in college and wants it legalized

  • Kamala Harris launched her presidential campaign last month
  • She said in a radio interview Monday that she favors marijuana legalization and has smoked the drug in the past
  • Harris is a liberal Democratic senator from California
  • She said black men are incarcerated more often than others for weed-related crimes, and 'not all drugs are the same'
  • Bill Clinton famously said in 1992 that he 'didn't inhale' pot in his youth; Barack Obama said a quarter-century later that inhaling the smoke 'was the point' 

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, who launched her presidential campaign last month, said Monday morning that she smoked marijuana in college, wants it legalized and remembers what it felt like to be high.

'I have. And I inhaled. I did inhale. It was a long time ago, but yes. I just broke news!' Harris said through a cascade of laughter on New York City's hip-hop radio program 'The Breakfast Club.'

'You know, I joke about it – half joke – but half my family's from Jamaica! Are you kidding me?'

Sen. Kamala Harris said Monday morning during a new York City radio interview that she smoked marijuana in college

Sen. Kamala Harris said Monday morning during a New York City radio interview that she smoked marijuana in college

Harris also became the first 2020 presidential candidate to say she has smoked weed and call for its nationwide legalization

Harris is the first 2020 presidential candidate to say she has smoked weed and call for its nationwide legalization

Harris said her pot delivery method of choice in her college years at Howard University was a joint

Harris said her pot delivery method of choice in her college years at Howard University was a joint

'It was a joint,' Harris recalled, saying that she remember what it felt like to be high on the drug.

'Listen: I think it gives a lot of people joy, and we need more joy!' she laughed later in the interview. 

Harris said she has long been an advocate for states legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, and now wants it legalized in general.

'I think we need to legalize marijuana,' she said Monday, adding that 'we need to move it on the schedule so that we can research the impact of weed on a developing brain.'

'Not all drugs are the same,' she insisted, while suggesting that criminalizing weed has disproportinately affected black men in America's criminal justice system.

Bill Clinton famously claimed in 1992 that while he had experimented with weed in college, he 'didn't inhale' it

Bill Clinton famously claimed in 1992 that while he had experimented with weed in college, he 'didn't inhale' it

Barack Obama proudly declared during his first presidential campaign that he had smoked pot in his youth and inhaled because 'that was the point'; he, like Sen. Harris, is biracial

Barack Obama proudly declared during his first presidential campaign that he had smoked pot in his youth and inhaled because 'that was the point'

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) said during a September 2015 presidential primary debate that he had smoked pot, later tweeting: 'Sorry Mom'; President Donald Trump has said he never partook of drugs or alcohol other than communion wine

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) said during a September 2015 presidential primary debate that he had smoked pot, later tweeting: 'Sorry Mom'; President Donald Trump has said he never partook of drugs or alcohol other than communion wine

'We have incarcerated so many, particularly young men – and young men of color – in a way that we have not for the same level of use, other young men. And we've got to deal with that,' she said.

Recreational marijuana use is legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Thirty-three states have legalized medical marijuana. But the drug is still illegal under federal law – turning the pot trade into a volatile cash-only business that can't use FDIC-insured banks for deposits.

It has been nearly 29 years since presidential candidate Bill Clinton admitted that he had smoked weed but insisted that he 'didn't inhale.'

More than a quarter-century later, Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, said he was a regular pot smoker but stopped during the campaign: 'I want to be completely on top of my game, all cylinders.'

President Donald Trump has softened his 1990s-era view that states should legalize marijuana. He has said he has never taken an illegal drug or drunk alcohol, with the exception of communion wine.

His predecessor Barack Obama was famously open about his drug use, recalling in a memoir his teenage friendships in a group he called 'The Choom Gang.'

'I inhaled frequently. That was the point,' he told NBC News in 2006. 

Top 2016 Democrat Hillary Clinton continues to insist, despite her interactions with the 1960s counter-culture, that she hever smoked marijuana; Bernie Sanders (right) was never is denial

2016 Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, is a regular pot user but paused his smoking in order to be sharp on the campaign trail

2016 Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, is a regular pot user but paused his smoking in order to be sharp on the campaign trail

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed in 2016 when she ran against Trump that despite surrounding herself with counter-culture figures in her twenties, she has never smoked marijuana.

'I didn’t do it when I was young,' she said in a 2014 town hall. 'I’m not going to start now.'

Other presidnetial hopefuls have admitted toking in the past, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. After letting the cat out of the bag during a 2015 primary debate, he tweeted: 'Sorry Mom.' 

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign told DailyMail.com in 2016 that 'when he was a teenager, he foolishly experimented with marijuana. It was a mistake, and he's never tried it since.'

'Teenagers are often known for their lack of judgment, and Sen. Cruz was no exception,' the spokesperson said.