President-elect Biden will soon announce his pick for the next Attorney General, and rumors are already swirling over possible candidates. For cannabis consumers and patients, as well as reformers, regulators, and members of the industry, few roles in the federal government will be more important than that of the United States Attorney General. 

The choice president-elect Biden makes will say a lot about the mindset of our next president and the role federal law enforcement will take. This is where the rubber meets the road and is a critical test of the incoming administration to make good on its commitment to end cannabis prohibition, expunge records, and move the federal government away from the failures of the war on cannabis. 

Voters today support cannabis reform by a wide margin — in red and blue states alike. The next AG should reflect that sentiment and guide us to better policy, rather than a vain and harmful attempt to rewind the clock.  

Serious criminal justice reform will not be possible until we end the war on cannabis, and voters agree. Lawmakers who care about this issue should ask serious questions of the AG candidate. Here is MPP’s list of 10 cannabis questions we think the nominee for AG should answer before a vote is taken: 

1. Would you restore the Cole memo, and how would you improve upon it? 

2. How would you limit the use of DEA cannabis interdiction in light of the 36 states with cannabis regulatory systems? 

3. What do you see as the relationship between cannabis and other drugs, if any? Does the ‘gateway theory’ have merit? 

4. What percentage of federal resources should be devoted to the reduction in cannabis use versus a reduction in the use of opioids?

5. Is cannabis more harmful than alcohol? Should penalties for use be more harsh than those for alcohol?

6. Should cannabis be on the same schedule as heroin or meth? Should it be on the schedule at all?

7. Is marijuana more harmful than marijuana prohibition?

8. Has the drug war been a success or failure, and what if anything would you do differently?

9. Do you support the release of nonviolent cannabis offenders who are currently incarcerated and the expungement of nonviolent cannabis offenses from criminal histories?

10. Would electronic banking as provided for in the SAFE Banking Act help distinguish between state-legal marijuana industry actors and the illicit market?

We were encouraged to hear statements by President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris showing support for meaningful cannabis reform. Now is the time to measure just how serious those commitments are. Stay tuned as we hear who the administration puts forth.

Follow this link to contact your lawmaker right now and ask for a YES vote.

Lawmakers today in the House of Representatives debated the MORE Act, which is now expected to get a vote by the entire House of Representatives tomorrow. For the first time, Congress will vote on a measure to end the federal war on cannabis.

It’s a big deal. And it is a chance for you to have a direct say in the law-making process. If you haven’t already, now is the time to send a message to your lawmaker to ask for support for the MORE Act. We’ve made it easy to do — just follow this link which routes your message to your own member in the House. 

MORE would completely remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances and strike criminal possession laws at the federal level. That alone is huge, but it would also have the effect of getting better access for veterans and letting cannabis businesses use banks — just to name a few. MORE would also expunge the criminal cannabis records for those caught in the gears of the federal criminal justice system. You can read more about other key provisions in MORE here. 

Please take a moment to reach out to your member in the House so they hear from you before they vote tomorrow. Here we go, folks!

Tune in to Regulate Connecticut on Facebook Live for an expert panel featuring an economist, retired police captain, nurse, and clergy member!

Incoming House Speaker Matt Ritter recently told the press he thinks there’s a 50/50 chance Connecticut will legalize cannabis in 2021. We need your help to put the issue over the top.

We are pleased to announce a Facebook Live community conversation on cannabis legalization and social equity this Thursday, December 3, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This legalization forum will feature a panel of experts who support legalization, followed by an audience Q&A.

This will be a great opportunity to show support and participate in the discussion.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Connecticut Legalization Forum

WHERE: Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/RegulateCT

WHEN: Thursday, December 3, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

WHO: Prof. Fred Carstensen of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis; Capt. Lawrence Hunter (Retired, Waterbury Police Department); Rev. Tommie Jackson; Kebra Smith-Bolden, R.N.; and DeVaughn Ward, Senior Legislative Counsel, Marijuana Policy Project and Connecticut Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Co-Chair

Please tune in and spread the word on Facebook and other social media.

Click here to ask lawmakers to vote "yes" on cannabis legalization.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are poised to vote on the MORE Act, which could come as early as Wednesday. It has been a historic year for cannabis reform, and December is shaping up to be no different.  

Click here to send an email message to your representative in the House in support of the MORE Act.

This landmark legislation would remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances, expunge criminal records related to cannabis, and take other important steps toward ending the war on marijuana and its consumers. Criminal justice reform cannot begin in our country without ending the war on cannabis. The MORE Act would strike at the core of its harmful status in federal law, and it would provide essential restorative justice provisions to begin to undo decades of harm caused by prohibition. For more on MORE, click here. 

If you haven’t done so already, please take a few minutes to reach out to your House members and ask for their support on the MORE Act. Then, forward this message to folks in your network, and let's keep up the pressure.

Prohibitionists have filed a lawsuit to overturn the legalization law passed by South Dakota voters on Election Day!

Please make a donation to South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws' legal defense fund.

Late on Friday, the Superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol and a local County Sheriff filed a lawsuit to overturn Amendment A, the marijuana legalization ballot initiative that was approved by 54% of South Dakota voters on Election Day. Governor Kristi Noem is supporting the lawsuit, and she's even using taxpayer dollars to help fund it.

If the lawsuit succeeds, Amendment A will be invalidated and legalization would be repealed. This would be a disastrous outcome given that South Dakota’s existing marijuana laws are some of the harshest in the country. The lawsuit argues that the initiative covered too many subjects and required a constitutional convention to be enacted.

The good news is this: South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the local campaign that passed Amendment A, is confident that they can defeat the lawsuit. Amendment A was carefully drafted and thoroughly vetted last year before the start of the signature drive.

But to win in court, the campaign needs to invest in a strong legal defense team...and that’s expensive.

Please consider making a contribution directly to South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws. Over the weekend, the campaign raised over $5,500 in small dollar donations, with nearly all the money coming from South Dakota residents.

Now, we need Americans across the country to help our friends in the Mount Rushmore State.

Since last year, MPP staff have played a central role in this historic campaign, in which South Dakota became the first ever state to simultaneously legalize medical marijuana and legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over.

Help ensure that this hard-fought victory is not reversed in court and donate what you can to South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws.

Thank you so much.

Ask your state legislators to embrace reform in 2021.

The North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice has recognized that cannabis policy reform is essential to racial justice. It is recommending reducing the penalty for possessing up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis to a civil fine and expunging past convictions. It also called for a study of legalization.

Let your state lawmakers know you want them to heed this call when they reconvene next year.

The task force includes Attorney General Josh Stein, who explained, “White and Black North Carolinians use marijuana at similar rates, yet Black people are disproportionately arrested and sentenced. Additionally, it is time for North Carolina to start having real conversations about a safe, measured, public health approach to potentially legalizing marijuana.”

Under North Carolina law, possession of up to a half ounce of cannabis is a misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $200. Possession of greater amounts up to 1.5 ounces can result in up to 45 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Criminal convictions can derail lives, making it difficult to get employment, housing, professional licenses, and an education. The racially disparate enforcement of cannabis laws means that Black North Carolinians are disproportionately likely to have to face these harsh consequences for using a substance that is safer than alcohol.

Let your lawmakers know it’s past time North Carolina stop marking cannabis users with a scarlet letter. Then, spread the word so that others can raise their voices for justice.

I should be fired.

For the past four years, I have tried to convince my party and my president to embrace marijuana policy reform. It should have been easy. After all, it is consistent with our core beliefs of freedom, individual liberty, personal responsibility, and federalism. But I failed.

I know from personal experience as a former legislator who was the original lead sponsor of my state’s first medical marijuana law that drug policy advocacy by a Republican is not the third rail everyone reflexively assumes it to be. Either because of, or in spite of, my advocacy over the past 20 years, I was also elected by Maryland’s most partisan Republicans to be a party chair and four-time RNC convention delegate, once as delegation chair and twice for Trump.

As a candidate, Trump said he was in favor of medical marijuana… “100%.” He also said he knew sick people who use marijuana for medical purposes and that, “it really does help them.” I knew then that he was sympathetic to patients and to our cause. And he thought legalizing marijuana should be left up to the states. I was dealt a pretty good hand.

During the 2016 election, four blue states passed adult-use marijuana ballot initiatives. One in Arizona failed by two points. Arkansas, Montana, and North Dakota passed medical marijuana with 53%, 58%, and 64% respectively. In Florida, medical marijuana received 71% of the vote, besting Trump by 1.9 million votes (6,519,000 for Measure 2 and 4,618,000 for Trump).

In battleground Florida, pot was more popular than the president, and Trump apparently noticed. His vocal support for Senator Cory Gardner’s STATES Act suggested that the drug war he had inherited would be another of the endless wars that would cease under his leadership.

In 2018, battleground Michigan passed commercial cannabis with 56% of the vote. Ruby red states Utah, Oklahoma, and Missouri passed medical with 53%, 57%, and 67% of the vote respectively and cost one Republican congresswoman her seat. Surely the Trump Administration noticed. Yet they never acted.

The Democrats won the House, and with its ‘leave it to the states’ attitude the STATES Act wasn’t comprehensive enough. It died without a vote. Progressives replaced STATES with the MORE Act, which proved too heavy to get off the runway. It has yet to get a floor vote.

Knowing he agreed with the policy and could witness firsthand the value of the politics, I was just waiting for executive action. In August, in anticipation of an ‘October Surprise,’ MPP hand-delivered to the administration a list of what Trump could do to bring this civil war to an end. Yet they never acted.

When it was apparent that the Democratic nominee would be the author of the ‘94 crime bill, Joe Biden, the RNC and the Trump campaign were quick to juxtapose Trump’s criminal justice reform efforts with Biden’s “lock ‘em up” history. But it was difficult to make the case that Biden was bad on cannabis when Trump wasn’t yet good on cannabis. Trump’s vocal support of STATES was negated by his nomination of Jeff “good people don’t smoke pot” Sessions as Attorney General and Sessions’ subsequent repeal of the Cole Memo.

Finally in August, the president blamed marijuana ballot initiatives for the defeat of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for bringing “out like a million people that nobody ever knew were coming out.” I knew then that Trump understood the benefit of being on the right side of reform. Yet he never acted.

Maybe Trump is right, maybe not. According to an analysis by Marijuana Moment, one thing is certain: sharing your ballot with cannabis will embarrass you. In the red states, in the blue states, and in the battleground states, pot is more popular than the pols. This year, medical cannabis beat the president in South Dakota and Mississippi. Adult-use bested all the Senate, House, and Gubernatorial candidates in Montana and beat both Trump and Biden in New Jersey and Arizona.

If Trump is correct, there is a certain irony that, less than three months after his remarks to Walker, cannabis got 60%, Trump 49% in battleground Arizona. His margin was razor thin. In a race where everything mattered, marijuana votes mattered. Did being on the wrong side of cannabis not only embarrass Trump (and McSally) in Arizona, but also cost him the state’s 11 electoral votes and maybe the White House? Based on his comments in Wisconsin, Trump must think so.

Either way, someone should get fired.

Don Murphy is the director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, a former Maryland legislator, and four-time Republican National Committee Convention Delegate.

Click here to ask your member of the House to vote “yes” on the MORE Act.

Leadership in the House of Representatives recently announced plans to vote on the MORE Act in December. As we’ve reported, this will mark the first time the House has voted to end cannabis prohibition, and the measure takes other major steps toward cannabis policy reform.

This is big, and now is the time to reach out to your member of Congress. Follow this link to send a quick message asking your Representative to vote yes on the MORE Act when it is called for a vote.

In effect, the MORE Act would end the war on cannabis at the federal level by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act and ending criminal penalties under federal law. It would also take steps to reduce the harm from years of failed cannabis laws by expunging criminal histories related to marijuana and prohibiting discrimination against individuals on the basis of their cannabis use. We have a summary of many of the key provisions here.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who made the announcement, is making good on leadership’s commitment to hold a vote on the landmark bill, which was originally scheduled before the election. If the measure passes in the House, it will move to the Senate.

Please take a moment to make sure your House member knows of your support and ask for a “yes” vote on the MORE Act!

Ask your state senator to support S.2535/ A.1897.

Good news! Yesterday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved S.2535/ A.1897. The combined bills would legalize possession of up to six ounces of cannabis! The measure was approved with an 11-0 vote, with one abstention.

The bills now await a floor vote in the Senate.

Please email your state senator today to ask them to support this important step to implement the voter-enacted legalization initiative.

The amended bills would legalize possession for adults of up to six ounces of marijuana, or up to 170 grams of hashish. Distribution of up to one ounce of cannabis or five grams of hash would carry a civil penalty of $50.

Additionally, prosecutors would be allowed more discretion to dismiss some pending cannabis cases under the proposed amendments — specifically, pending cases for distribution of just under five pounds of marijuana.

Also in a surprise move, the amendments would also reduce the penalty for possession of one ounce or less of psilocybin mushrooms to a disorderly persons offense punishable by a $500 fine and potential jail time.

Finally, in other news, Senate and Assembly budget committees have delayed consideration of bills to implement the legal, regulated cannabis market — A. 21 and S. 21. As Assembly Appropriations Committee Chairman John Burzichelli (D) said, “Negotiations and fine tuning are still underway on that topic.”

After you take action, please spread the word to others so we can put an end to criminalizing cannabis consumers in New Jersey across the finish line.

Ask your state lawmakers to support legalization, not just decriminalization, immediately, and to improve the regulatory bills!