Fat Joe joined Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House to talk marijuana penalties

GRAMMY nominated rapper Fat Joe , alongside VP Kamala Harris , led a private discussion regarding marijuana and justice reform over the weekend.

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In a bid to address federal law on the use of cannabis, Vice President Kamala Harris invited rapper and reform advocate Fat Joe, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear , to the White House. The three co-moderated a private discussion with previously convicted marijuana users, each who had been pardoned by the Biden administration. “Today, when the Vice President calls me, I stop everything,” Fat Joe said of the meeting. And behind closed doors, they aimed to address the inequities within federal drug policies.

“I will say that I believe that the promise of America includes justice under the law,” Vice President Harris began in her address to the press . “And for too many, our criminal justice system has failed to live up to that core principle.”

“This issue is stark when one considers the fact that, on the schedule currently, marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin. Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl,” Harris pointed out, which she went on to call, “absurd, not to mention patently unfair.”

And it’s true - marijuana is currently considered a “Schedule I" drug under federal law , which is defined as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Oxycodone, cocaine and fentanyl are all at a “Schedule II” ranking, and federally considered less dangerous than marijuana. As of last year, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the recreational drug be reclassified and moved down to the same level as testosterone and ketamine. Thus, as a “Schedule III” drug, marijuana would instead be considered as having a moderate potential for addiction.

That reclassification is currently pending with the Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Administration, and the VP said that she and the President, “look forward to the product of their work.”

In the meantime, Fat Joe was brought on to moderate the closed-door cannabis discussion as a part of his continuing correspondence with the Biden White House. Just last September, the rapper played a major role in the “ Fight for Our Freedoms” College Tour alongside the VP, and addressed topics such as criminal reform, climate change, and voter registration.

“Go out there, register to vote” Fat Joe urged the public. “Because even if you follow what’s going on out there, even if you want to support, if you don’t register to vote, then your voice won’t matter.”

“And of course, you know, I’m voting for Kamala Harris and Joe Biden,” he quipped at the time, with the press chuckling and clapping in response.

To read President Biden’s official statement on marijuana reform, check out this link from White House.gov. And, while you’re at it, listen to some Fat Joe with Audacy’s Hip-Hop Made: New York City station - available for free on the Audacy app.