Happy Easter and 4/20, John!
Whether you choose to celebrate (responsibly) today or not — the fact of the matter is that it’s high time for real change in America’s approach to cannabis.
This is about more than legalization. It’s about justice.
Since California became the first state to permit medical marijuana in 1996, 38 more states have followed suit. And 24 states have since legalized recreational use.
While we applaud this progress, the path to real justice is still unfolding.
At the federal level, efforts to decriminalize, legalize, and pursue other reforms have stalled repeatedly. For decades, our leaders have kicked this can down the road — all the while, people have continued to suffer.
We're trying to change that, John. But this requires a joint effort.
Can you sign onto our petition to demand Congress take action to pursue cannabis reform?
We’ll be blunt. The War on Drugs is bulls*it.
Unfortunately, this prehistoric campaign isn’t a relic of the past.
Fortunately, public opinion and attitudes have rapidly changed in recent years. This is no longer a left versus right issue. 7 out of 10 Americans support marijuana legalization — including majorities of Democrats and yes, even Republicans.
It’s time our politicians act accordingly.
Among the states that have decriminalized and legalized cannabis, some have gone a step further by granting clemency and expunging the records of those with past marijuana convictions — a key step aimed at repairing past harms.
During his term, President Biden made several moves toward cannabis justice and equity by issuing a proclamation that pardoned most federal offenses for simple possession charges. In the final months of the administration, efforts were made to reschedule or reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to III.
Yet, other states have gone in the opposite direction — defying the overwhelming consensus among residents.
In Florida, a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in November failed — it received majority support, but failed to reach the new minimum threshold of 60 percent under state law — a deliberate move by state Republicans to make passing ballot initiatives more difficult.
We won't sugarcoat it, John. With Republicans in control of Washington, any efforts to push cannabis reform will likely continue to face several hurdles.
But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stop fighting.
Thank you for reading,
LeftNet
