MPP: The Future of Cannabis Laws

Marijuana Policy Project's president and CEO, Toi Hutchinson, discusses the challenges facing cannabis legalization: https://buff.ly/3Pkuopj

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The nation's leading organization working to legalize cannabis, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), has had more success in passing laws or creating coalitions to end cannabis prohibition than any other organization — passing 15 medical cannabis laws since its founding in 1995.

MPP's president and CEO, Toi Hutchinson, previously served as an Illinois state senator representing the Prairie State's 40th District from 2009 to 2019. There, she co-sponsored the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA), lauded as "the most equity-centric law in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis."

In an exclusive interview with Leafwell, Hutchinson shed light on MPP's mission, challenges, and how it's working to change the legal landscape and create equity for the communities affected most significantly by cannabis's Schedule I drug classification.

"There are tens of millions of people in prohibition states where you can still be arrested and lose everything — including your job, your livelihood, or your children — for possessing a plant that has a multi-billion-dollar industry operating simultaneously," Hutchinson told Leafwell.

During her last year as a state senator, Hutchinson was personally appointed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as his Senior Advisor for Cannabis Control.

"It's really important to meet every person where they're at. I've never seen anyone change their mind on anything if they're attacked," she added. "I try to meet people with facts and information but from the standpoint of listening first to understand their concerns."

Read more about Marijuana Policy Project's impact on cannabis legislation across the United States on the Leafwell blog: https://buff.ly/3Pkuopj