Will you sign the petition to demand that marijuana be legalized nationwide NOW?
Dear MoveOn member,
After more than 50 years of flawed, racist policy and a failed war on drugs, the Department of Justice is now planning to reschedule marijuana as a lower-risk drug.1 With 24 states, two territories, and D.C. having legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, and 38 states allowing medical use of cannabis products, it's not just time to reschedule marijuana but to legalize cannabis entirely.2
Will you add your name to the petition to demand that marijuana be legalized and decriminalized NOW?
Marijuana's placement in the Controlled Substances Act has had a devastating impact on our communities and is increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion. The nation has reached a broad consensus on legalizing marijuana, with a full 7 in 10 adults now supportive. Not only do most U.S. adults favor it, but so do majorities of all major political and ideological subgroups—and it's time for our legal system to catch up.3
Marijuana has been a Schedule I drug since the Controlled Substances Act was signed in 1970. This classification was based on stigma, not science.
The current recommendation from the Department of Justice would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug—believed highly dangerous, addictive, and without medical use—to a Schedule III drug that can be lawfully prescribed as medication. Unfortunately, changing marijuana's scheduling still maintains its federal criminalization and harms to our communities. We need to deschedule marijuana entirely through comprehensive reform like the CAOA!
The need to legalize cannabis nationwide couldn't be more urgent. Today, police make more than 1.5 million drug arrests each year, and about 550,000 of those are for cannabis offenses alone. Almost 500,000 people are incarcerated for nothing more than a drug law violation, and Black and brown people are disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement and sentencing practices.4
Add your name now to join a growing number of federal lawmakers, including Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Oregon's Senator Ron Wyden, demanding that Congress pass the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would finally end the federal prohibition on cannabis while prioritizing safety, research, workers' rights, and restorative justice.5
Thanks for all you do.
–Soraya, Chris, Jensine, Mia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Justice Dept plans to reschedule marijuana as a lower-risk drug" CNN, April 30, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/191328?t=8&akid=388217%2E40999114%2EdghvJk
2. Ibid.
3. "Grassroots Support for Legalizing Marijuana Hits Record 70%," Gallup, November 8, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/191329?t=10&akid=388217%2E40999114%2EdghvJk
4."Fifty Years Ago Today, President Nixon Declared the War on Drugs," Vera, June 17, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/191306?t=12&akid=388217%2E40999114%2EdghvJk
5. "U.S. Senators Introduce Bill To Legalize Marijuana," Forbes, May 2, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/191330?t=14&akid=388217%2E40999114%2EdghvJk
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