A policy summit in Washington D.C. one day before 420 will feature discussions on a range of issues concerning cannabis that demand greater public attention \u2014 from the importance of veterans\u2019 access to medical marijuana, to the need for environmental oversight in the emerging legal industry, to the role of the media in \u201creshaping the narrative\u201d of the war on drugs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The April 19\u00a0National Cannabis Policy Summit<\/a>\u00a0is to take place at D.C.\u2019s\u00a0Newseum<\/a>, and will bring together leaders in both cannabis advocacy and the cannabis industry. Capitol Hill politicians are also lined up for the event. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) will deliver the keynote address, with video link-ups from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) and Rep. Lou Correa (D-CA).<\/p>\n This should be an opportunity to bring the concerns of grassroots activists to those who habituate the corridors of power. Queen Adesuyi,\u00a0policy coordinator of Drug Policy Alliance<\/a>, will lead a discussion on the potential for legalization to serve as a path to social justice, titled \u201cLeveling the Playing Field: Is the Cannabis Industry a Second Chance for Victims of the Failed War on Drugs?\u201d<\/p>\n The panel organizers note that since cannabis was added to the federal list of controlled substances in 1970, the incarcerated population in the United States has increased by 700 percent. And while cannabis use across racial groups is virtually equal, people of color remain overrepresented in the prison population \u2014 while underrepresented in leadership roles in the emerging legal cannabis industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis is growing into a billion-dollar industry, but for many looking to enter the legal cannabis industry, the bar for entry remains nearly unattainable, resulting in an industry that does not reflect the makeup of its audience,\u201d the panel description states. \u201cHow do we reconcile capitalism, equity and incarceration? How can the cannabis industry move past the damage caused by the failed War on Drugs and become a viable opportunity for all Americans?\u201d<\/p>\n The Summit will be part of the National Cannabis Festival<\/a>, which is to highlight with a\u00a0420 concert<\/a>\u00a0at RFK Stadium featuring Ludacris and Action Bronson. At the adjacent RFK Festival Grounds, there will be\u00a0educational pavilions<\/a>\u00a0focusing on the intersection of cannabis policy and culture, cultivation,\u00a0health and wellness<\/a>\u00a0and other, related topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n This will be second National Cannabis Policy Summit, while the Festival was first held in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n Festival founder Caroline Phillips, a\u00a0public relations and events strategist<\/a>\u00a0of progressive bent, tells Cannabis Now the event will \u201cconvene unlikely allies around cannabis legalization. People of different political ideologies and backgrounds \u2014 Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, independents and the unaffiliated, who agree that it\u2019s time to make progress on our cannabis laws. When it comes to cannabis, we all find overlap and places where there can be improvement on the laws.\u201d<\/p>\n Recalling the first National Cannabis Policy Summit last year, Phillips says, \u201cThe goal was to create a platform for people from different political parties to convene around conversations about cannabis policy reform. In year one we welcomed speakers like [longtime conservative activist] Grover Norquist and D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine,\u201d who is famously progressive.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis year we have experts from a variety of think-tanks, business leaders and members of Congress addressing our audience,\u201d Phillips adds.<\/p>\n Phillips sees the nation\u2019s capital as in ideal setting for the event. \u201cD.C. is a diverse community with a lot of universities and a high concentration of think-tanks and people working to push policies at federal level,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, veterans\u2019 groups that all agree that there should be alternatives to opioids for vets, criminal justice groups who agree we should stop arresting for cannabis, industry focus groups who agree we should stop treating business owners in the cannabis industry like criminals. And there\u2019s something powerful about having all these people in same room. When we come together to demand cannabis legalization in the United States, it makes our voices stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n And Phillips stresses that legal cannabis is just the first demand, a place where the conversation begins rather than where it ends: \u201cWhen this industry comes to full legalization, it\u2019s not going to be just another industry, but a better industry.\u201d<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, will you be attending this year\u2019s National Cannabis Policy Summit?<\/p>\n The post National Cannabis Policy Summit Looks to Define the Future of Cannabis<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A policy summit in Washington D.C. one day before 420 will feature discussions on a range of issues concerning cannabis that demand greater public attention \u2014 from the importance of veterans\u2019 access to medical marijuana, to the need for environmental oversight in the emerging legal industry, to the role ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3867,50,7557,69,687,4109,4110,3793],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34543"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34544,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34543\/revisions\/34544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Second Summit, Fourth Festival<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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