John,

I am so thankful that Brittney Griner has been freed from her unjust detention in Russia and can finally return home to her friends and family, including her wife. She was held on cannabis possession charges, and her safety was particularly in jeopardy since she is Black and queer.

She has arrived back in the U.S. just as Congress is finally passing long-overdue federal protections for LGBTQ+ marriages. And she’s returned to a country that still arrests and imprisons people for cannabis.

This is an urgent racial justice issue: Despite similar use rates, Black Americans are arrested for cannabis possession nearly 4x more than white Americans. Black people are more likely to be arrested even in states that have legalized marijuana. Once convicted, people of color serve harsher sentences for longer periods of time.

Let’s build on the momentum of Brittney Griner’s freedom and work to free those who are still incarcerated for cannabis here in the United States.

Please sign now to tell Congress: Reform cannabis laws in the lame duck session before the new Congress starts next year. This is an urgent racial justice issue.

We have a real opportunity for cannabis reform in the last few weeks of the lame duck (post-election) Congressional session, with Democrats still in control of the House and Senate.

A bipartisan group of Senators is working on a cannabis package to pass by the end of the year, which would help people expunge prior cannabis convictions from their records.

Expunging people’s records is a crucial step.

With our country’s racist policing and court system, Black and brown people are disproportionately arrested and convicted related to cannabis use. When this happens, people face potential loss of employment, housing, voting rights, professional licensing, and student aid.

But we must also free the thousands of U.S. residents who still remain incarcerated, even though dozens of states have legalized or decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis. Many of the people still serving time for cannabis-related offenses would not have been convicted, or at least not sentenced as harshly, under today’s standards.

Our country’s unjust drug policies and racist enforcement have ripped apart families and destroyed communities. We must urgently legalize cannabis and uplift the communities that have been harmed.

Due to Republicans having a majority in the House next year (after this year’s mid-term elections), it could be years before we have another shot at passing cannabis reform.

Please take urgent action now by adding your name: Congress must pass cannabis reform in the last few weeks of the lame duck session.

Thank you for being by my side as, together, we fight to end unjust laws and end systemic racism.

- Rashida