Cal NORML participated in Cannabis Unity Coalition lobby day last week in Washington, DC to lobby for full cannabis decriminalization, release of federal marijuana prisoners, and the clearing of records for past marijuana convictions.
Watch the coalition press conference held at the US Capitol at which Cannabis Caucus Co-Chairs Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) spoke, along with Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN). Read more.
Also speaking were representatives from Latino and Indigenous groups, prisoner advocates, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, NORML, MPP, DPA, and others. Information packets were dropped by Coalition members in all Congressional offices. In addition, 2,148 letters were sent to Congress in support of 44 organizations united around 13 bills, educating all 541 offices in the House and Senate.
Cal NORML’s director Dale Gieringer and deputy director Ellen Komp met with staffers for several Congressmembers, and Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. We even got a personal moment with Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland), Senator Schiff, and Rep. Titus. Staffers were interested to hear about the potential effect of the recent rescheduling order on California consumers and businesses.
At a California Constituent Coffee with Sens. Schiff and Padilla, Ellen had asked for both of them to sponsor this year’s expected Senate version of the MORE Act to fully deschedule cannabis, pointing out the pitfalls of partial rescheduling for recreational states like CA.
Californian Jackie Simion from NCIA thanked the Senators for their attention to the issue, and asked the Cannabis Unity contingent to raise their hands in a show of force. We all got a group photo with the Senators (above).
Kristi Kem of Freedom Grow spoke about the effective 70% tax rate on cannabis businesses in California, and about prisoner Pedro Moreno, currently serving a life sentence in Atwater, CA for a cannabis offense, one of 3000 federal cannabis prisoners still incarcerated.
“This was never just about one week,” writes Kat Murti, executive director of SSDP. “Cannabis Week of Unity was a launchpad for ongoing coordination, advocacy, and movement-building. We are just getting started, and the relationships, momentum, and visibility built this week will continue to power our work moving forward.” Cal NORML is following up with California-based members of the unity coalition, working towards reform efforts in our state.