As summer comes to an end, and as the election propaganda (on both sides) starts piling up, who is going to be the “best” political party (federally) for cannabis moving forward for America?
First off, when I say “best,” what the fuck does that mean?” In my personal opinion “the best” is the following:
Any person in America can grow/work with (All ages), consume (with only med card under 18) , and sell (21+) cannabis.
Example: One should be able to take cannabis to another farmers market (that sells fruits, veggies, and other produce) in the state (or out of the state) if they grew it to sell/trade. By blocking this right and still taxing farmers is a great example of taxation without representation.
Releasing all prisoners incarcerated due to cannabis-related charges and/or all cannabis charges totally expunged for all people affected.
Where do we start? You start with the nonviolent cannabis offenders who have done the most time, for example, some like Edwin Rubis, who is currently on year 25 out of a 40-year sentence for a charge of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, despite not being found with any drugs, guns, or money. While I understand it is a “process” to release the prisoners, the cannabis American people are done waiting for our brothers, sisters, and people of cannabis to be released!
So, PERSONALLY, when I’m looking at the political battlegrounds of cannabis in this country, which do I think is “best”? None. I think both parties like to dangle the carrot in front of our faces to get clickbait ads for news media for social media ESPECIALLY during the election season, it’s a vicious cycle.
So right now, one really has to ask themselves out of all the elections, local, state, and federal, what people, not political parties, do you think will help people like Edwin Rubis and Marc Fogel? Both parties could have already helped these prisoners, but they haven’t. Which political party as a whole is going to stop using cannabis and cannabis prisoners as clickbait to line their pockets and try to earn naive votes?
When will the American people advocate for the release of those incarcerated for nonviolent cannabis charges? Will it take a nationwide cannabis march on DC? Meanwhile, Berner from Cookies and Boris from Curaleaf are “cannabis billionaires”. At the same time, Edwin Rubis celebrated his 56th birthday while serving a 40-year sentence and not even having a fuckin plant or ANYTHING in his possession. THIS IS NOT RIGHT. THIS IS UNAMERICAN. THE CRIME DOES NOT MATCH THE CHARGE!
So, how do we solve this? I understand it wouldn’t happen overnight, but one thing each one of us can do is get MORE active in local and state-level politics. That can look different to everyone. To some, it might just be going to the town hall regularly for meetings trying to make connections, or maybe you volunteer in a committee in your town, or some of you might even take the extra step to run for a local town council position or even state rep!
Even if you don’t “believe” in the system per se, cannabis Americans will have to win this battle from the inside out, entering the belly of the beast if you will. Who is ready to take the next step and stop the reefer madness and start releasing our cannabis, people?!?!
Check out more of Derek’s work here at Beard Bros, A Look Into Maines Medical Cannabis Program And How It Continues to Outperform Its Adult Use Market.
Derek Shirley was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 19, he received a felony for 4 ounces of cannabis. After, he became a “cannabis nomad” living in Ohio, Arizona, and Maine, which he now calls home, and lives with his wife Sequoia and son Haze.
Being a cannabis nomad had its advantages, like relying on all markets for his medical cannabis needs which gives him a unique perspective of the cannabis markets. Currently, Derek operates People Not Parties Consulting, which helps local people and small businesses navigate their local and state governments without picking a political party specializing in protecting and preserving the small medical cannabis farmers of Maine. For fun, Derek enjoys screen printing and making cannabis memes under the pseudonym @gettinghighwithcats on IG.
