Dear John,

Eight in ten Americans agree: It’s time to end the federal criminalization of marijuana.

Keeping marijuana illegal nationwide creates an incredible level of unequal enforcement. So while cannabis remains fully criminalized in just three states,^[1] an American is put into handcuffs for a marijuana offense every 90 seconds anyway.^[2]

In the last two decades, 15.7 million people have been arrested for nonviolent marijuana offenses, and 40,000 prisoners are sitting behind bars right now for cannabis crimes.^[3] Many are even incarcerated in states like California and Colorado where the crime for which they were convicted is actually legal statewide.

It’s not right. We need to get prisoners the justice they deserve. Sign your name to add your voice and pressure to end the Federal prohibition on marijuana now.

The prohibition of marijuana disproportionately affects people of color, even though Americans of all races use marijuana at equal rates.

Black Americans are nearly four times as likely to be arrested as white people for marijuana.^[4] And when people of color are arrested, their sentences are worse.

Black men receive 13.1% longer sentences than white men, and Latinos are 6.5 times more likely to receive a federal sentence than non-Hispanic whites.^[5]

From Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren to South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace^[6], leaders across the political spectrum have spoken out about the inequality of federal marijuana enforcement. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Barbara Lee, and Jamaal Bowman recently wrote to the president encouraging pardons for the many Americans who “remain behind bars due to racially discriminatory cannabis policies” and who “continue to accrue criminal fees.”^[7]

Unequal enforcement of marijuana laws especially hurts communities of color. The only way to restore equality is to end Federal marijuana prohibition. Add your name to the petition now.

We’re wasting $47 billion each year on the war on drugs, much of which is spent on enforcing an outdated, draconian set of Federal marijuana laws.^[3] Let’s put an end to this inconsistent, widely unpopular unequal enforcement.

Thanks for helping make the justice system more just.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action

^{[1] “State Medical Cannabis Laws,” NCSL, 2022
[2] “Marijuana Arrests Dropped Sharply In 2020 As Both COVID And Legalization Spread, FBI Data Shows,” Marijuana Moment, 2021
[3] “Change Is Coming: Fighting Criminal Injustice and Reimagining Drug Policy,” Last Prisoner Project, 2022
[4] “Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers,” ACLU, 2022
[5] “Federal attempts to legalize marijuana flail, even as public support grows,” Idaho Capital Sun, 2022
[6] “A Republican Congresswoman’s Formative Moment With Marijuana”, Bloomberg, 2021
[7] “Congressional Lawmakers Want ‘Urgent’ Update From Biden On Marijuana Pardons As Holidays Approach”, Marijuana Moment, 2021}