Cannabis Prisoners Project

Today, many citizens are incarcerated for possession of cannabis simply because they did not have the means for proper legal representation and as a result received long prison terms. In fact, of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simple possession. In 2010 alone, more than half of all drug arrests were cannabis-related and according to FBI data, in 2012 Police arrested a US citizen for cannabis every 42 seconds. This must stop!

As part of our advocacy efforts, we have created the Cannabis Prisoners Project - a national non-profit whose objective is to free those incarcerated for possession, sales or cultivation of Cannabis and return them to their families. We will locate these individuals, coordinate new representation and reopen their case to determine if their sentence can be overturned or reduced and upon their release expunge their records so they do not continue to be punished or stigmatized as they reenter society.

The key to politics is to have people think the way you want them to – before it’s important  for them to do so. If we don’t define the issue, someone else will and so, through a signature campaign, social media campaigns, as well as documenting personal interest stories to educate and inform constituents, we hope to bring pressure upon authorities for release of these Cannabis prisoners. Beyond raising community awareness and funding legal intervention, we also plan to use a portion of our donations to place monies on Cannabis prisoner’s books who are without means to pay for necessities not provided by the prison system.