Marijuana advocates and stakeholders from the industry will stage another protest in Washington, D.C., this spring, to demonstrate support for federal legalization. This is at a moment of uncertainty regarding what could be achieved under a GOP-controlled Congress.
From April 28 to 1, the cannabis unity week of action will take place, led by The Last Prisoner Project. It brings together diverse groups to unite “advocates, individuals affected, and leaders in the industry to put pressure on Congress and Trump’s administration to legalize all marijuana, as well as implement retroactive compensation measures for those impacted by prohibitionist policies.”
This weeklong event includes educational outreach, press conference featuring allies of the reform movement in Congress and “an outside action to honor those who are still behind bars for cannabis possession and request their release via presidential clemency.”
“The National Cannabis Festival will host a Policy Summit on Monday, at the MLK Library. This event is designed to provide attendees with information about current policy issues before Congress. A congressional press conference will be held on Tuesday morning. This is followed by an official welcome in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center at 2pm. On Wednesday, attendees will have the opportunity to meet their representatives on Capitol Hill and advocate for cannabis legislation. The event will end Thursday night with a rally outside the White House in honor of those who are still behind bars for marijuana and to demand their release via presidential pardon.
Rep. Ilhan omar (D, MN), who became co-chair of Congressional Cannabis Caucus recently, commented on the occasion, saying that it is “past the time for legalizing cannabis in all 50 states and expunging records for people incarcerated due to cannabis-related crimes.
She said, “I am incredibly grateful to the Cannabis Unity Coalition for their partnership and I look forward to collaborating with them to achieve this goal.”
This is a very exciting announcement #CannabisUnityWeekWashington D.C., April 28th-May 1st.
Read more here: https://t.co/rtxcn7vjLx pic.twitter.com/IChtIfQIYE
— Last Prisoner Project (@lastprisonerprj) February 26, 2025
Other organizations that are participating in the LPP include: Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), NORML Veterans Cannabis Coalition, Parabola Center Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Students for Sensible Drug Policy(SSDP), National Cannabis Industry Association NCIA Minority Cannabis Business Association MCBA, Marijuana Policy Project MPP.
Sarah Gersten (executive director at LPP) said that the cannabis prohibition had devastated many lives. It also disproportionately impacted people of color. Legalization must include justice for the cannabis offenders still incarcerated.
She said: “Cannabis Unity Week is a great opportunity for advocates, leaders in the industry, and families affected to come together and demand reforms, retroactive relief, and clemency.”
LPP organized a 4/20 cannabis celebration event last year in Washington, D.C.
Weldon Angelos, founder of The Weldon Project & Mission Green who received a presidential pardon for a marijuana-related offense under the first Trump administration, said in the new LPP announcement that “prohibition has destroyed lives, torn families apart, and fueled mass incarceration.”
He said: “We need to repeal the prohibition in its entirety, erase records and release those who are still in prison.”
Kat Murti is the executive director at SSDP. She stressed “it’s not enough just to treat the symptoms; we have to solve the issue from the roots.”
Her words: “We must stop all arrests, free all cannabis inmates, remove all barriers for their reintegration back into society and end the marijuana prohibition.” The War on Drugs has always had a heavy toll on young people. “The War on Drugs has always been a war on us and we won’t stand back passively to allow it be fought on our behalf.”
LPP stated that anyone who is unable to participate in the D.C. conference can still “participate virtually” by contacting their congress representatives to urge them to end cannabis criminalization. It was also suggested that individuals contact their state governors to urge them to grant clemency for those who are in custody.
It remains to be determined how the federal policies will change this 4/20 season, which adds urgency to advocacy and stakeholder’s pressure campaign.
The idea that federal prohibition walls will be smashed in the 119th Congress is unlikely, with Republicans controlling both the House of Representatives and Senate as well as in the White House. There is still hope that things could change in favor of the industry, given Donald Trump’s support for cannabis banking, state legalization, and rescheduling on his campaign trail.
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A key GOP Congressman has filed this month a bill that will continue to prevent marijuana businesses from claiming federal tax deductions, under Internal Revenue Service code 280E. This is true even if the federal government reschedules cannabis. It is possible that his influence in a key committee will help to pass the budget bill.
Text of the standalone bill isn’t available yet, but it has the same short title as a Senate measure from Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) that’s called the “No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act.”
Meanwhile, another GOP congressman, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), recently introduced a different bill aimed at providing military veterans with access to medical marijuana.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) has separately filed a proposal seeking to protect military veterans from losing government benefits for using medical cannabis in compliance with state law.
Advocacy groups and other stakeholders await the introduction of a new bipartisan proposal to protect banks against being punished by federal officials for working with businesses operating under state legal cannabis laws.
The GOP House sponsor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act will be filing it again this year, but a spokesperson for his office told MEDCAN24 last month that the introduction is “not imminent” as some recent reports have suggested.
A Federal Judge again rules against the government’s ban on gun ownership by marijuana consumers
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