It\u2019s the beginning of a new chapter in the cannabis policy reform movement, and as 2025 legislative sessions get underway, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has a new leader at the helm.<\/p>\n
Lauren Daly has been named as the leading cannabis organization\u2019s interim executive director. With a background in drug policy and civil rights advocacy\u2014and years of experience in a fundraising capacity\u2014the plan is to help elevate MPP\u2019s work at a critical inflection point at the state and federal levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first started learning about the broader drug war\u2014not just cannabis\u2014it became something that I couldn\u2019t turn away from and really wanted to be involved in,\u201d Daly told Marijuana Moment in an interview. \u201cSo it\u2019s important to me, and also a really big and exciting challenge to try on.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Daly, the new position represents something of a full circle. More than a decade ago, she served as a membership coordinator at MPP, stuffing envelopes with renewal letters to support the organization\u2019s grassroots efforts to affect the cannabis policy landscape. In the years since, she\u2019s also served in top roles at Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the ACLU of the District of Columbia, Brown University and more.<\/p>\n
One key skill she brings to the table is fundraising\u2014which has become critically important for grassroots cannabis groups as philanthropic support has gradually dwindled, posing a significant challenge for advocates as they\u2019ve continued to work to end prohibition in states across the U.S. while also influencing federal marijuana policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFundraising is a core function of any executive director, and I\u2019m prepared to devote a lot of my time to that work,\u201d Daly said. \u201cI know coming in that one of my challenges will be to re-energize our fundraising, and an important piece of that is going to be raising awareness of how much work there still is to do on cannabis reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMPP is delighted to welcome Lauren Daly as our new Interim Executive Director! <\/p>\n
Lauren\u2019s leadership and long standing ties to the cannabis legalization movement will be an enormous asset to our team as we begin our 30th year of changing laws and changing lives. pic.twitter.com\/RdAEXc0qE5<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Marijuana Policy Project (@MarijuanaPolicy) February 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Increasingly, as more state markets have emerged\u2014in no small way assisted by organizations like MPP\u2014industry stakeholders have taken on a more prominent role in the push for reform, with a particular focus on Congress. But Daly says MPP is uniquely positioned to bring industry and advocacy together in their mutual push to replace criminalization with regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMPP has served as a bridge between the grassroots and the industry for a long time\u2014and working together with many different allies allows us to make the biggest possible impact,\u201d she said. \u201cSeeking compromise and making incremental progress is a lot of what makes MPP effective, but, ultimately, our priority is policy that supports patients and creates a market where there\u2019s safe access to cannabis and, importantly, stops the pipeline into the criminal legal system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, while MPP of late has focused much of its resources on state-level reform, Daly said the organization will be \u201crefocusing on federal work.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that, with President Donald Trump having endorsed certain reforms on the campaign trail\u2014including rescheduling and cannabis industry banking access\u2014\u201dthere could be opportunities to make progress at the federal level, and we\u2019re coordinating with our allies and want to be ready to respond to any opportunity that arises.\u201d<\/p>\n
But MPP won\u2019t be turning away from its work on state-level reform, and Daly said the organization is eyeing several states that may be ripe for legalization in 2025. That includes, she said, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire\u2014even Louisiana, though that might be a \u201clonger-term push.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to new states legalizing, we\u2019re also working with allies to defend legalization from being pared down in Nebraska and Ohio,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then on the medical front, we\u2019re getting started in Wisconsin and might have opportunities in North and South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the background, certain members of MPP also remain \u201cinterested\u201d in the prospect of merging with another major cannabis advocacy group, NORML<\/a>. While talks between the organizations didn\u2019t result in a merger<\/a> last year, Daly assured that \u201cit could be discussed again, and I\u2019ll follow the board\u2019s direction on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daly will be taking the reins of MPP from Matthew Schweich\u2014a legacy executive at the organization who has stepped in to lead its work at multiple junctures over its history. Most recently, he took on the interim executive director role after its former leader Toi Hutchinson stepped down in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Lauren is the perfect person to lead MPP,\u201d Schweich told Marijuana Moment. \u201cShe truly believes in our mission and her work in the drug policy reform movement is proof of that. Also, she has excellent fundraising experience, which is an important skill to bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
MPP was founded in the mid-90s by Rob Kampia, a former NORML staffer, but he stepped down in 2017, after which point Schweich took over in an interim executive role for nearly a year before the position was filled by Steve Hawkins. Then Hawkins left in 2021, and\u00a0the organization hired Hutchinson later that year<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, the push for reform may be complicated in 2025, with open questions about how the new administration might navigate cannabis issues and much work still cut out for advocates at the state level. But MPP is expressing optimism that the momentum is there, and the new leadership change could help usher in positive outcome for reform allies in the new year.<\/p>\n
\nMarijuana Industry Is \u2018Effectively Debanked\u2019 And \u2018Forced\u2019 To Operate On Cash, Witness Tells Senate Committee<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
The post Top Marijuana Advocacy Organization Welcomes New Leader Who Sees \u2018Opportunities To Make Progress\u2019 In 2025<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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