Ethan Nadelmann was one of the keynote speaker at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo last week in Los Angeles. Nadelmann is the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which is the self described leading organization in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. He received his B.A., J.D., and Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard as well as a Masters’ degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics, and taught at Princeton University for seven years. So needless to say he is an extremely well educated, intelligent marijuana activist. Believe it or not he was also a very entertaining and engaging speaker who received a standing ovation.
He originally felt a little torn by the idea of a cannabis business expo – the goal of most attendees was to learn how to earn money (or make personal gains) from this industry. His priorities had always been about legalizing as part of civil liberties and create a better society. It was while he was recently at a cannabis expo is Spain when he decided to reframe his ideas about the business side of marijuana. He saw anything helping to bring it more main-stream was a good thing in the end.His hope is that:
1) The industry emerges as an outstanding model and cares about what’s ultimately good for our nation as a whole.
2) Cannabis entrepreneurs make a lot of money ethically
3) They donate to the cause and help end all drug wars
Nadelmann went on to give a history lesson – where did this marijuana legalization movement come from?
1) It was a movement driven by Civil Freedoms (individual Freedoms)
2) People felt good about what they were involved with.
3) People used to smoke joints in Harvard courtyard or movie theaters in the 70’s with no problems. 53 percent of college freshmen supported legalizing weed in 1978.
4) The victory of the70’s reversed in the 80’s with Regan’ War on Drugs. Within a decade the number of college freshmen who supported legalization had fallen to und 25%.
We (marijuana activists) can’t get greedy and we can’t take things for granted. Legislation can turn things around and he’s seen it happen in the past.
Proposition 215 – Nadelmann was pivotal in passing Dennis Peron’s Prop back in 1996. He recruited funding from George Soros, Peter Lewis and John Sperling. Nadelmann was thrilled about this prop passing and contributed three key components to its success:
- Majority of the populous was in favor of the issue
- Laws proposed helps low priority group.
- Politics won’t step up.
In 2010 Drug Policy Alliance looked at states with ballot initiatives and spread its resources to six states but California Prop 19 was not a major focus. There was less publicity in other states and they felt there resources would be better spent in the other states – all which went to to win!
There was a public opinion 2012 that was very revealing. People where more likely to vote for medical marijuana legalization when they know someone who used it even if they used to use marijuana themselves. There are many people who use marijuana but just don’t do so openly.
Don’t talk away the right of individuals being able to grow for personal use. Some people are passionate about growing and like to get their hands in the soil. Also don’t restrict people with criminal backgrounds (from prior marijuana violations) be restricted from working in this industry – it is counter intuitive and counter productive.
The Drug Alliance policy was deeply involved in Oregon’s recent marijuana initiative – Nadelmann feels this is one of the best models for states to follow.
They also spent $1.7M to help pass Washington prop 502 and the money was well spent.
Obama administration didn’t know what to do what do when CO and WA legalized recreational use of marijuana. Then in Aug 2013 we get a green light from the Federal Attorney General – this was huge not only in America but around the world.
Upcoming election in Ohio
Nadelmann is torn about the upcoming Ohio election, which is trying to pass a medical marijuana and recreational marijuana law at the same time. He doesn’t like the smell of the oligopoly (which is backing the bill and is in line to receive all the state’s licenses) but it is better than having a dry state. There is a bill opposing the oligopoly model for MMJ access. He feels that the best case for Ohio is that both these bills wins and the courts will ultimately create a new MMJ model for the state.
This was a very interesting talk covering the recent history of the American marijuana movement, Nadelmann’s contributions and the road ahead. In the end he told all the up and coming business folk not to forget that in the end “He’s your Daddy.”