One of the nation\u2019s top cannabis reform advocacy groups\u2014the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)\u2014is getting a new leader with an extensive professional background in the enactment and implementation of state-level legalization as a lawmaker and government official.<\/p>\n
Toi Hutchinson, who most recently served as the senior advisor on cannabis to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), will replace Steve Hawkins and join the national advocacy organization as president and CEO.<\/p>\n
The changeup, which was shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment ahead of the announcement, comes at a vital time in the cannabis legalization movement in which MPP has played a key role in advancing reform in states across the country.<\/p>\n
Advocates have celebrated Hutchinson\u2019s leadership on the issue, applauding her sponsorship as a state senator of Illinois\u2019s adult-use legalization policy that Pritzker signed into law<\/a> in 2019, as well as her focus on promoting social equity<\/a> within the burgeoning marijuana industry.<\/p>\n Hutchinson told Marijuana Moment that in her regulatory capacity as Pritzker\u2019s cannabis advisor, days when she would see thousands of cannabis records cleared<\/a> under the newly enacted law were the \u201cmoments that I will take with me for the rest of my life, wherever it is I go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt also means that this cannabis legalization work is wrapped around my soul now, so when I got the call from MPP, it was a no-brainer because we know that the march towards federal legalization is going to happen through the states,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we have to keep doing that until we get action at the federal level.\u201d<\/p>\n We are excited to welcome Toi Hutchinson as MPP’s new president and CEO! https:\/\/t.co\/COZ2HmpUet<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RNFljMEnCh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Marijuana Policy Project (@MarijuanaPolicy) December 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n From state lawmaker to administrative advisor, the official has seen the conversation around cannabis policy evolve\u2014particularly as it concerns the importance of addressing the disproportionate consequences of marijuana criminalization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe discussion around cannabis has grown to the point where we have to talk about legalization with the understanding that we have an industry,\u201d Hutchinson said, adding that in the nascent stages of reform discussions \u201ca lot of those initial conversations didn\u2019t center around equity\u2014it was really about freeing the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Illinois did was different,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the biggest lesson I learned\u2014and I think what people respond to\u2014is that if you\u2019re going to normalize and legalize a product for whom the prohibition of that exact same product destroyed generations of communities, you have to center those two things together.\u201d<\/p>\n Toi also served as an Illinois state senator where she was one of the initial author’s of cannabis legalization legislation.<\/p>\n \u2014 Marijuana Policy Project (@MarijuanaPolicy) December 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n When you put equity front and center, \u201cyou really do come up with better policy proposals,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you center the people who are harmed the most by this\u2014the communities that were harmed the most by this\u2014then you can meet people in places where they didn\u2019t even know they were going to agree with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawkins, meanwhile, has been wearing two hats for the past year. Beside running MPP, he\u2019s also the president and CEO of the newer organization U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), an industry-focused marijuana group that\u2019s become heavily involved in federal cannabis reform legislation.<\/p>\n Before joining MPP<\/a>, Hawkins served as the executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) and executive vice president of the NAACP. Colleagues praised his commitment to the movement and stressed that this staffing decision was mutual and amicable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe MPP board has been incredibly pleased with Steve\u2019s leadership, his ability to coalition build, to bring people together,\u201d Sal Pace, chair of the organization\u2019s board, told Marijuana Moment. \u201cSo much of the success at the state level over the last four years has been with Steve at the helm of MPP.\u201d (Disclosure: Pace supports Marijuana Moment\u2019s work via a\u00a0monthly pledge on Patreon<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n Hutchinson, meanwhile, brings a whole new skill set to the organization\u2019s leadership, with important experience bringing reform to a state legislature and seeing to its coming to fruition in the governor\u2019s office. She also previously served as president of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I could imagine a biography more perfectly suited for running MPP for the future,\u201d Pace said.<\/p>\n Pritzker recognized Hutchinson\u2019s contributions to the state\u2019s marijuana policy at a press conference on Wednesday about a new round of cannabis-funded grant funding<\/a> for community reinvestment.<\/p>\n \u201cFor over two years, Toi has served as the premier advisor on cannabis, rolling back the injustices of criminalization, investing in the communities that needed most and making Illinois\u2019s industry the most equitable in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For over two years, Toi Hutchinson has been my foremost advisor on cannabis: making Illinois\u2019 industry the most equitable in the country. While I’m sad to see her go, it was an honor to have her lead this charge. \u2014 Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) December 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cIn her new role, Toi will be able to share on a national platform the lessons learned from passing and implementing the Illinois law,\u201d Pritzker said. \u201cI will miss her in the governor\u2019s office. But what an honor for Illinois to have our own Toi Hutchinson leading the charge on a national scale, shaping the fight for cannabis justice\u2014not just in our state but in all 50 states.\u201d<\/p>\n MPP and USCC will continue to work together in a symbiotic partnership to advance the cause. There\u2019s wide recognition that as more states move to legalize, it adds pressure on Congress to act.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud certainly of all the accomplishments that I\u2019ve had at MPP since I came on as executive director in 2018,\u201d Hawkins told Marijuana Moment. \u201cMPP played a pivotal role with the incubation of the U.S. Cannabis Council, which launched in February, and this seemed to be the perfect time to make the move over to USCC.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that MPP has identified such an incredible leader in Toi Hutchinson, this creates a real great dynamic duo, if you will, between myself and Toi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At USCC, \u201cmy vision is really to make sure that we we have some substantial cannabis reform happen in this session of Congress,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cThere are bills pending for legalization, for banking, for expungement. And USCC is going to be continuing to advocate for substantial reform across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n I am proud of what we have accomplished at MPP and look forward to working alongside @ToiHutchinson<\/a> in the fight to end cannabis prohibition! Toi is an incredible leader, and I know that our organizations will work tirelessly to advance our shared goals.https:\/\/t.co\/6fijkitYQa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Steven W Hawkins (@StevenWHawkins) December 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n This is the latest executive change to happen at MPP in recent years. The group\u2019s co-founder, Rob Kampia, left the organization in 2017<\/a>, more than two decades after founding it. Kampia\u2019s departure was announced shortly after sexual misconduct allegations against him resurfaced amid the #MeToo movement.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, MPP separately hired a new director of communications last month. Denise Tolliver, a former reporter and congressional staffer. The organization also announced recently that it hired the Louisiana-based founder of CommonSenseNOLA, Kevin Caldwell, as its Southeast legislative manager.<\/p>\n New York Lawmaker Files Bill To Legalize Medical Psilocybin Treatments, With Focus On First Responders And Veterans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Leading Marijuana Reform Group Hires Illinois Government Cannabis Czar As President And CEO<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
One of the nation\u2019s top cannabis reform advocacy groups\u2014the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)\u2014is getting a new leader with an extensive professional background in the enactment and implementation of state-level legalization as a lawmaker and government official. Toi Hutchinson, who most recently served as the senior advisor on cannabis to IllinoisContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51769"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51769"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51770,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51769\/revisions\/51770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\u2070Toi, Illinois is a better state because of your public service. pic.twitter.com\/DaKE8JIXNA<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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\nRead More: Leading Marijuana Reform Group Hires Illinois Government Cannabis Czar As President And CEO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"