20,000 signatures reached
To: President Biden & Congress
Legalize Marijuana Nationwide
After more than 50 years of flawed, racist policy and a failed war on drugs, the Department of Justice is now planning to reschedule marijuana as a lower-risk drug.
With 24 states and Washington, D.C., having legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and 14 other states authorizing it for medical use, it's not just time to reschedule marijuana but to deschedule cannabis entirely.
Marijuana’s placement in the Controlled Substances Act has had a devastating impact on our communities and is increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion.
Sign the petition now to join the growing movement fighting to transform cannabis policy and end the war on drugs.
Why is this important?
Marijuana has been a Schedule I drug since the Controlled Substances Act was signed in 1970. This classification was based on stigma, not science.
The current recommendation from the Department of Justice would reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug—believed highly dangerous, addictive, and without medical use—to a Schedule III drug that can be lawfully prescribed as medication.
But the need to legalize cannabis nationwide couldn't be more urgent. Today, police make more than 1.5 million drug arrests each year, and about 550,000 of those are for cannabis offenses alone. Almost 500,000 people are incarcerated for nothing more than a drug law violation, and Black and brown people are disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement and sentencing practices.
Add your name now to join a growing number of federal lawmakers, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senate Majority Chuck Schumer and Oregon’s Sen. Ron Wyden, demanding that Congress pass the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, which would finally end the federal prohibition on cannabis while prioritizing safety, research, workers’ rights and restorative justice.
Source: https://www.vera.org/news/fifty-years-ago-today-president-nixon-declared-the-war-on-drugs