NORML Launches “Smoke the Vote” To Prepare For 2020 Election

Originally published at blog.NORML.org

While these challenging times present many difficulties for those of us seeking to advance the goal of ending federal marijuana prohibition, NORML’s newly launched election tool provides our supporters with an easy and convenient way to assist in our fight for reform.

Despite the ongoing crisis we are faced with, the November elections will still hold major implications for the future of legalization and other cannabis policy reforms. That is why, today, we have an important ask for you: Are you ready to make a difference? 

We’ve seen more candidates and elected officials than ever before express their support for marijuana policy reform. Unfortunately, there are still far too many politicians clinging to the ‘reefer madness’ of a bygone era. That is why NORML wants you to not only be an informed cannabis consumer, but we also need you and hundreds-of-thousands of others to be informed cannabis voters.  

This is why NORML has updated and retooled our platform: Smoke the Vote. Now you can learn where your state and federal candidates stand on the issue of marijuana freedom with NORML’s new Smoke the Vote: NORML’s 2020 voter guide and candidate scorecard.

In recent years, members of Congress and thousands of state lawmakers have cast important votes for and against substantive marijuana policy reforms. This means that, wherever you reside, you most likely have elected officials that have personally weighed in on this issue. Do you know where they stand on the cannabis question? Are they representing your interests?

As we approach November, it is crucial that our friends, family, and neighbors know which candidates have voted the ‘right way’ on cannabis issues so that those of us who care about marijuana policy reform may cast our votes accordingly. 

We’ve provided you with the voting records of all of the federal candidates, but we need your help with many others, especially those elected at the state and local level. That is where you come in. If you know something about your local politicians’ marijuana policy positions, help us inform the public!

With our easy to use tool, you can input key information about your elected officials and local candidates. Just find a candidate and at the bottom of the page, click “Know more about this politician’s position on marijuana? Tell us!” to enter their position and links to the source. 

With your help, we’re going to build the most comprehensive database ever with regard to  candidates’ marijuana records. Once we’re ready, we’ll spread the information far and wide to ensure that every American can be an informed cannabis voter. 

Check out Smoke The Vote and start helping fill in information about your state lawmakers now! 

Marijuana won big at the ballot box in 2016 and 2018, and we expect that 2020 will be even bigger. We need to show elected officials in all levels of government that those that continue to maintain prohibitionist perspectives will be held accountable and will be voted out of office.

It’s simple. No one deserves to be treated as a second class citizen because they responsibly consume marijuana.

We encourage you to join us in our efforts to build this new and comprehensive platform. For those of you who can donate your time, we thank you in advance. For those of you who are able to donate in other ways, such as by making a financial contribution to this effort, we are dearly grateful. That said, we know that these are difficult times for many of you economically, and we do not want our members to experience any further undue financial stress or hardship. Therefore, we only ask that those who are comfortable to do so consider making a financial contribution at this time. 

Together, we will be on the front lines fighting for the freedom to consume marijuana responsibly without fear of being branded as a criminal.

Together, we’re going to make history,

The NORML Team