ABOUT US

MISSION & VISION

WHAT DOES THE LAST PRISONER PROJECT DO?

The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform. We aim to end America’s policy of cannabis criminalization, as well as to repair the harms of this discriminatory and counterproductive crusade.

We accomplish this by focusing on three key criminal justice reform initiatives: release, record clearance, and reentry support.

• Prisoner Release. The core focus of our work is ensuring the release of incarcerated cannabis prisoners. We accomplish this through our state and federal cannabis clemency programs (including the Cannabis Justice Initiative — a partnership with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), compassionate release efforts, and resentencing policy campaigns.
• Record Clearance. A criminal record can be a significant barrier to employment, housing, financial assistance, and more. This is why we work to advance—and ensure the proper and complete implementation of—broad, automated and state-initiated record clearance programs.
• Reentry Support. Our reentry programs work to reduce recidivism rates by providing the funds, professional support, and educational resources our constituents need upon release. Collectively these programs help cannabis prisoners become fully free.

Beyond release, record clearance, and reentry, we also work to get our incarcerated constituents access to resources like food, healthcare, and phone calls by helping to fund their commissary accounts.

Collectively LPP’s programs help cannabis prisoners become fully free.

HISTORY & GOVERNANCE

WHEN WAS THE LAST PRISONER PROJECT FOUNDED?

In 2015, Steve DeAngelo began to lay out a plan to realize his life-long dream of starting an organization dedicated exclusively to free the tens of thousands of people currently incarcerated in American prisons on cannabis charges as described in his book The Cannabis Manifesto. The name for the organization came from a passage from the book that reads: “We will not rest and we will not stop until the last cannabis prisoner is set free.” Only a few years later, The Last Prisoner Project was officially formed. 

WHO IS ON LAST PRISONER PROJECT BOARD? 

LPP is overseen by our Board of Directors and operates in accordance with our governing documents and conflicts of interest policy, which can be found here.

WHO STARTED THE LAST PRISONER PROJECT? 

The Last Prisoner Project was founded in 2019 by globally-recognized American drug policy reform activist Steve DeAngelo, cannabis entrepreneur and activist Andrew DeAngelo, and music industry veteran Dean Raise. While Steve DeAngelo has been advocating for cannabis policy and criminal justice reform since he was first arrested for marijuana possession in the early 1970s, he no longer holds any formal or operational roles with the Last Prisoner Project, yet his lifelong fight for an end to marijuana prohibition (and relief for the millions negatively impacted by it) continues to inspire us each day.

GET INVOLVED

DONATE

FOR INDIVIDUALS: 

Every contribution to the Last Prisoner Project helps fund our programs that make constituents "fully free". Donations also ensure we can work to pursue systemic reform through our policy and advocacy initiatives. Gifts to the Last Prisoner Project are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. You can access our proof of tax exempt status here.

Donations can be made online via credit card or bank transfer at this link or by check mailed to 1312 17th Street Suite 640 Denver, CO 80202.

FOR BUSINESSES 

At LPP we firmly believe that every corporate organization has a responsibility to give back to their community and to social justice efforts. This is particularly true if your business is part of the regulated cannabis industry–we believe you have an ethical obligation to help right the injustice that is thousands of people in prison for doing what you are now doing legally to build wealth. We have two main ways interested companies can donate to the Last Prisoner Project’s mission. 

• Roll It Up For Justice. Our Roll It Up For Justice Program is a nationwide campaign encouraging cannabis businesses to give customers the opportunity to donate to Last Prisoner Project at check out.  Small change can make a big impact, and every cent raised through the program gets us closer to the day when every last cannabis prisoner will be set free. Learn more about the Roll It Up For Justice program here.
• Partners for Freedom. Our Partners for Freedom Program is a nationwide group of our most committed and generous partners in our mission to free cannabis prisoners and promote restorative justice in the cannabis industry. Through their support, financially and beyond, Partners for Freedom get us closer to the day when every last cannabis prisoner will have been set free. Learn more about the Partners for Freedom program here.

JOBS & INTERNSHIPS

Job and internship opportunities will be posted to our Idealist account.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

To sign up to receive more information about volunteer opportunities at LPP fill out our volunteer application form.

If you are an attorney or paralegal and would like to join our network of pro bono attorneys you can sign up through the Cannabis Justice Initiative homepage. 

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

You can find a wealth of resources to keep you informed and involved on the Take Action part of our website. And please be sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to get updates directly from the team.

OUR WORK

DIRECT SERVICES

PRISONER RELEASE: 

Every day at LPP we are fighting for the "full freedom" of every last person in prison for unjust cannabis laws. Fully free means we fight for legalization, the release of prisoners, the removal of cannabis crimes from their records, and training for a successful reentry into society. We want to ensure that our constituents are not just released, but fully freed from prison and the collateral harm done by unjust cannabis laws.

The first step is releasing those still incarcerated on cannabis-related offenses.

Our direct service programs include our pro bono legal services, where we work to secure freedom through executive clemency or compassionate release motions. Learn more here.

CANNABIS JUSTICE INITIATIVE

LPP has recently partnered with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to launch the Cannabis Justice Initiative, which is one of our biggest efforts to help facilitate clemency, compassionate release, and expungement for individuals with cannabis-related convictions. Learn more about the initiative here.

REENTRY RESOURCES

Our reentry resources are focused on ensuring that our constituents have the tools and support they need when coming home from incarceration. This includes financial support for things like housing, transportation, and medical needs, employability skills and training, and financial wellness counseling.

Along with our general reentry resources, we also offer scholarship opportunities for our constituents interested in pursuing careers in the now legal cannabis industry through virtual and in-person classes and training.

Learn more here.

FAMILY SUPPORT FUND: 

A portion of LPP's funding goes directly to the children of our currently incarcerated constituents who are particularly in need of financial assistance for educational resources while their parent is incarcerated. Learn more here.

PUBLIC EDUCATION & AWARENESS

ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS

The media and socio-cultural environment in which elected officials, policymakers and community leaders make decisions play a major role in shaping the outcome of individual cases—as well as the scope and scale of drug policy reform on the local, state, tribal and federal levels. Our advocacy campaigns use the faces and stories of individuals negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition to help to shape this broader media and cultural environment. 

Individual advocacy campaigns are never concepted and/or published without the explicit consent of our constituents and, when appropriate, their legal counsel. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION INITIATIVES

In order to help change the narrative about criminal justice in America, LPP produces reports, commentary and shareable content that explore the sordid history behind our nation’s drug policies. We also provide research and recommendations to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of criminal justice and drug policy reform. 

POLICY & LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

HOW IS LPP INVOLVED IN THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS?

We also work to advance drug policy reforms and address the collateral consequences of incarceration for all American communities by getting involved in the drafting and implementation of cannabis-related statutes on the local, state, and federal level. 

To learn more about our policy positions, efforts and initiatives, please click here.

DOES LPP WORK ON “SOCIAL EQUITY” EFFORTS?

While Last Prisoner Project is supportive of efforts to help ensure individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition have equitable access to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in the regulated cannabis market, our work only sees us focus on the criminal justice-related implications of cannabis policy (policing, courts, incarceration, etc.). 

For those looking to learn more about the social equity issue, and/or support nonprofits who are focused on advancing social equity provisions, we recommend that you check out organizations like the Minority Cannabis Business Association and Minorities for Medical Marijuana.

OUR CONSTITUENTS

WHO ARE LAST PRISONER PROJECT’S CONSTITUENTS?

We aim to provide legal representation to people currently incarcerated on cannabis-related charges (that are not defined as “crimes of violence”).

LPP evaluates each request for representation on a case-by-case basis and considers referrals holistically. Our constituents tend to be low-income people facing issues that require legal assistance, and we prioritize referrals that come from community sources (including but not limited to community centers, schools, churches, veterans’ centers, libraries, shelters, and community centers). 

Pending capacity and freedom from legal conflicts, we work to offer assistance to as many folks as we possibly can.

HOW DOES LPP WORK WITH CONSTITUENTS?

We work with each constituent to identify their needs and develop a plan to address the challenges—legal, social and/or economic—they’re currently facing. In many cases, we provide supplementary legal advice and/or legal representation. Through the Cannabis Justice Initiative we match constituents in need of legal representation with pro bono counsel. Through our Reentry Resources we work to assist our constituents coming home and their families with financial resources, access to employment, record clearance, and early termination of supervised release.