Today Last Prisoner Project (LPP), alongside other partner organizations, hosted a 420 Unity Day of Action press conference at the House Triangle in front of the U.S. Capitol building where we were joined by elected officials who have been leading the fight for cannabis reform including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts) to encourage their colleagues on both sides of the aisle to end the hypocrisy of cannabis criminalization.
Rep. Pressley said that, “criminalizing marijuana is part of the failed war on drugs and sustained a mass incarceration crisis that has ravaged our communities, destabilized our amilies and inflicted generational trauma. When we’re talking about the war on drugs, cannabis justice and the shameful crisis of mass incarceration, there are no excuses for the problem. No excuses, but there is a solution—and clemency is a part of that solution.” She continued saying, “Cannabis justice is racial justice. Cannabis justice is economic justice. Cannabis justice is reparative. It is restorative justice. And the time to act is now.
“The War on Drugs has failed, and it’s past time that cannabis be descheduled,” said Wyden. “That’s why I am proud to join forces for the 420 Unity Day of Action to bring America’s cannabis policies into the 21st century. But we can’t stop at descheduling. Congress must do more to repair the harm caused by a decades old-drug war—like passing the Cannabis Administration And Opportunity Act I introduced with Leader Schumer and Senator Booker. Meaningful cannabis reform will ensure communities of color receive equal justice and pave the way for small businesses to thrive in their local communities."
Rep. Blumenauer said, “Forces are aligned to be able to end this failed war on drugs and mobilize unprecedented support across the country. And, frankly, the Biden administration has been doing a little realignment, which I welcome. But it’s time to not just realign but get it done. President Biden, if I was interested in mobilizing young people—if I was interested in energizing them—this is a no-brainer.”
On April 18th,
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) joined advocates to
convene at the
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
Auditorium
at 9 a.m. for Lobby Day programming and meetings with elected officials and their staff to apply public pressure on Congress and the President to take action to fully legalize cannabis, free those still in prison, and provide retroactive relief. Capping off the 420 Unity Day of Action, the public is invited to attend a
candlelight vigil
in front of the White House at
Lafayette Square
on
April 18
from
7-10 p.m.
For supporters who can’t make it to D.C. but would still like to join our fight for cannabis justice, we encourage you to contact your elected officials by
sending them a letter and
calling their offices urging them to decriminalize cannabis now.
420 Unity Day of Action is part of the
National Cannabis Festival which takes place at
RFK Campus Festival Grounds
on
April 19th
and
20th where directly-impacted advocates will join celebrity voices like
M-1 of Dead Prez and JoJo Simmons for multiple panel conversations with partners on how we can push the movement forward. This will culminate with headlined concerts by
Thundercat
and
Wu-Tang Clan with
Redman.
Thanks to the broader array of advocate groups spanning across political boundaries that are supporting the 420 Unity Day of Action:
The Last Prisoner Project. All rights reserved.
Last Prisoner Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with EIN 83-4502829. Mailing address: 1312 17th St #640 Denver, CO 80202. Our governing documents and conflicts of interest policy can be found here. Our Privacy Policy can be found here.
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