Kamala Harris reaffirmed her support for the legalization of marijuana on Monday.
It is the first time Harris has done so since becoming the official Democrat nominee for president.
"I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior," Harris told the "All the Smoke" podcast, released Monday, "The Hill" reported.
"I just feel strongly people should not be going to jail for smoking weed. And we know historically what that has meant and who has gone to jail," she told hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Legalizing marijuana is "not a new position for me. I have felt for a long time we need to legalize it," Harris said.
However, Harris' views on marijuana have changed over the years.
Harris aggressively prosecuted marijuana-related crimes as San Francisco's district attorney and as California's attorney general. But as a senator, Harris co-sponsored legislation to end the federal prohibition on the drug and called for expunging nonviolent marijuana-related criminal offenses.