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  • 25 years of changing laws and changing lives

25 years of changing laws and changing lives

Jan 27, 2020

25 years, campaigns, cannabis regulation, changing laws, changing lives, decriminalization, founding, legalization, legislative efforts, Marijuana Policy Project, marijuana policy reform, medical cannabis, Medical Marijuana, movement, MPP, policy victories, success, Tax and Regulate

25 years of changing laws and changing lives
When MPP was founded in 1995, just one in four Americans supported legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults in the United States. The stigma created by decades of cannabis prohibition and misinformation had a stronghold on the public conscience, even as millions of victims were continuing to see their lives shattered by harmful and discriminatory drug war policies. One out of every six inmates in the federal prison system was incarcerated for a marijuana offense, and only a handful of states had taken any steps to decriminalize cannabis.

Thanks to the tireless educational, advocacy, and organizing efforts of MPP, our supporters, and our allies in the movement for reform, we have come a long way in the past 25 years. Today, over two in three Americans support cannabis legalization, and 11 states (and D.C.) have passed legalization laws, with numerous others poised to join their ranks as the benefits of these laws become increasingly clear.
 
We’re enormously proud of MPP’s central role in securing hard-fought reforms and of our ongoing track record of delivering tangible positive change to marijuana policies nationwide: 

  • Since spearheading the victorious campaign to legalize cannabis for adults in Colorado in 2012, MPP has steered the successful legalization efforts in Alaska, Nevada, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Michigan, and Illinois in the years since.

  • MPP has been committed to expanding access to medical marijuana for patients in need across the country, leading the advocacy efforts for 13 recent medical marijuana laws in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont.

  • MPP was indispensable in the passage of seven recent decriminalization laws in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
As we begin our critical 25th year of dismantling prohibition, MPP continues to be engaged in promising state and federal reform efforts:

  • MPP is supporting the Montana 2020 legalization campaign as it builds support for a ballot initiative that will legalize cannabis for adults, and in South Dakota we’re backing both medical and adult-use initiatives. 

  • In Connecticut and New Hampshire, we are working with lawmakers to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of strong popular support for legalization in both states. 

  • We’re also working to pass medical marijuana legislation in Kentucky and South Carolina this year. 
With more opportunities to change laws coming into play this year, please help us mark 25 years of progress by making a gift today to support our ongoing work.
 
Thank you for being a part of this incredible movement and for supporting MPP’s mission for the past quarter-century. We remain focused on the millions of Americans who are still suffering under prohibition, and MPP will never stop fighting for every citizen’s right to safely and legally access cannabis. Your donation will ensure that we can continue changing laws and changing lives.