Who Is The Drug Policy Alliance And How Do They Help The Cannabis Industry?

The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) released its 2014 annual report which highlights the developments that occurred over the course of the past year. The report also offers guidance as to the organization’s plans over the next two years and the initiatives they are working on.

Who is the Drug Policy Alliance?

The Drug Policy Alliance is the largest drug policy reform organization in the world. The organization was founded twenty years ago with its mission to end the war on drugs. The DPA wants to see drug use and addiction treated as a health issue, not a criminal issue. The end goal of the DPA’s campaign is to reduce the number of people in jail for drug law violations.

The DPA has led approximately half of the campaigns that have legalized marijuana. The most recent campaign led by the DPA was in New York. The organization played a role in the Colorado and Washington legal marijuana campaign in 2012, Uruguay’s campaign in 2013, and the Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C campaign in 2014.

What are some of the major developments that occurred during 2014?

The cannabis industry experienced unprecedented growth during 2014 and we believe this to be just the tip of the iceberg. Some of the highlights from 2014 include:

1. The legal marijuana market opened in Colorado and Washington.
2. Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia legalized marijuana.
3. Congress passed its first major reform of marijuana regulations in order to protect state marijuana laws.
4. Eight former presidents and other world leaders called for ending criminalization and for legally regulating drugs.
5. Marijuana reform was enacted in D.C and NYC with the passing of major reform legislation.

As of today marijuana is legal in 23 states and Washington D.C., and a number of states implemented decriminalization measures. These actions are leading up to implementation of major marijuana reform initiatives in 2016.

What to expect in 2016

The 2016 presidential election is not too far away and one topic in particular is expected to generate significant attention during the race. That topic is marijuana.

Nevada is the first state to officially have recreational marijuana on the ballot during 2016. Lawmakers failed to act on the initiative petition filed by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and thus placed the measure on the 2016 electoral ballot.

Similar ballot measures are likely to be decided in 2016 in several other states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, and New York.

Outlook

With organizations such as the DPA leading legal marijuana campaigns, the future is bright for the cannabis industry. There is still a lot of work to be done to effectively end federal marijuana prohibition and organizations such as the DPA need your support. Every vote and every signature will make a difference in the DPA’s fight against marijuana!

http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/DPA_Annual_Report_2014.PDF

http://www.drugpolicy.org/

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Michael Berger is Managing Partner of StoneBridge Partners, LLC and Founder of Technical420.com. Prior to entering the cannabis industry, Michael was an Equity Research Analyst at Raymond James Financial covering the Energy Sector. Michael has been featured in publications such as The Street, Bloomberg, US Money News, and hosts various cannabis events across North America.

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