By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and NICHOLAS RICCARDI
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A growing list of Democratic presidential contenders wants the U.S. government to legalize marijuana, reflecting a nationwide shift.

California Sen. Kamala Harris says it's the "smart thing to do." New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has sponsored a legalization bill and it's supported by Harris and fellow Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who appears poised to join the 2020 Democratic field, called again this week to end the federal prohibition on marijuana.

The embrace of legal pot is a turnaround from the not-so-distant past.

In 1992, then-White House candidate Bill Clinton delivered a famously tortured response about a youthful dalliance with cannabis, claiming he tried it as a graduate student in England but "didn't inhale."

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