Kenneth Wolski (born September 16, 1948) is an American activist from New Jersey. Wolski resides in Trenton, New Jersey and is the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey and a registered nurse. In 2012, Wolski ran for U.S. Senator from New Jersey as the nominee of the Green Party of New Jersey. Kicking off his campaign at the March 2012 convention, Wolski said, "I will campaign to end the influence of corporate money on elected officials, to end the destructive and ineffective War on Drugs, and to ensure free and universal health care for all Americans". [1] He finished 4th of 11 candidates, receiving 15,801 votes (0.47%).
Wolski is an advocate of marijuana legalization. [2] In November 2015, Wolski testified before a New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in favor of legalization. [3]
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Wolski was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. He took part in numerous anti-war actions, and demonstrations including the Spring Mobilization's march against the Vietnam War in San Francisco on April 15, 1967, and the 1971 May Day protests, a series of large-scale civil disobedience actions in Washington, D.C. He was a proponent of free speech, academic freedom, women's rights, civil rights, sexual freedom, and drug policy reform.
Wolski earned a B.A. in philosophy at Rutgers University–New Brunswick in 1971. He also earned an AAS in nursing from Mercer County Community College in 1976 and MPA from Rutgers University–Newark in 1992. [4]
Robert Laurence Barr Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He served as a federal prosecutor and as a U.S. Representative. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. During his time in the House of Representatives, he authored the Defense of Marriage Act, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013 and repealed by the 117th Congress.
James Polin Gray is an American jurist and writer. He was the presiding judge of the Superior Court of Orange County, California. Gray was the 2012 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee, as well as the party's 2004 candidate for the United States Senate in California. He is the author of multiple books and a play, and is an outspoken critic of American drug laws.
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization that seeks to advance policies that “reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition, and to promote the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies” The organization prioritizes reducing the role of criminalization in drug policy, advocating for the legal regulation of marijuana, and promoting health-centered drug policies. DPA has been led by executive director Kassandra Frederique since September 2020.
Barbara A. Buono is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succeeding Stephen Sweeney, and was succeeded by Loretta Weinberg. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in the 2013 general election, which she lost to Republican incumbent Chris Christie.
Raymond J. "Ray" Lesniak is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1983 to 2018, where he represented the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, the Senate, Lesniak served in the General Assembly from 1978 to 1983. Lesniak was once considered a major power broker in the Democratic Party, having served as New Jersey Democratic State Chairman, also serving as New Jersey Chair for Clinton/Gore in 1996 and as a major fundraiser for Gore/Lieberman in 2000. Lesniak finished a distant fourth place as a candidate for Governor of New Jersey in the 2017 election.
Nicholas Paul Scutari is an American politician and attorney who is the 115th and current President of the New Jersey Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2004, representing the 22nd Legislative District. He has held the position of Senate President since 2022.
Ronald L. Rice was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1986 to 2022. He represented the 28th Legislative District. Rice is one of the longest-serving state senators in New Jersey history.
The United States Marijuana Party is a cannabis political party in the United States founded in 2002 by Loretta Nall specifically to end the war on drugs and to legalize cannabis. Their policies also include other socially libertarian positions. U.S. Marijuana Party candidates in Vermont have run campaigns as recently as 2016. The party has had local chapters in several other states, and has been affiliated with international cannabis political parties.
New Jersey is one of the fifty U.S. states. The state is considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has supported the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992. Democrats have also controlled both chambers of the state legislature since 2002. New Jersey currently has two Democratic United States senators. New Jersey's Class I Senate seat has been Democratic since 1959. New Jersey's Class II Senate seat has been Democratic since 1979. In addition, New Jersey's House congressional delegation has had a Democratic majority since 1965, except for a period between 1995-1999 and 2013-2017. As of July 1, 2020, there were more registered Democrats than unaffiliated voters for the first time in history, as there are more Democrats than Republicans as well.
The Green Party of New Jersey is the state party organization for New Jersey of the Green Party of the United States. It was founded in January 1997 by Nick Mellis and Steve Welzer.
Cannabis political parties are generally single-issue parties that exist to oppose the laws against cannabis.
Kevin Abraham Sabet is a former three-time White House Office of National Drug Control Policy advisor, having been the only person appointed to that office by both a Republican and Democrat. He is also an assistant professor adjunct at Yale University Medical School, a fellow at Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and a columnist at Newsweek.
The Legalize Marijuana Party is a political third party in the U.S. state of New Jersey established in 1998 by Edward Forchion to protest cannabis prohibition.
The 2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 U.S. presidential election as well as other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
Cannabis in New Jersey is legal for both medical use and recreational use. An amendment to the state constitution legalizing cannabis became effective on January 1, 2021, and enabling legislation and related bills were signed into law by governor Phil Murphy on February 22, 2021.
Ed Forchion, also known as NJWeedman, is an American Rastafari cannabis rights and free speech activist, perennial candidate, actor, writer, and restaurateur. He is the founder of the Legalize Marijuana Party.
Peter J. Rohrman is an American operations manager, Marine veteran, volunteer firefighter, volunteer coach, and political activist. A native of Carlstadt, New Jersey, he ran for Bergen County Freeholder in 2015 and 2016. Rohrman was the Libertarian Party nominee in New Jersey's 2017 gubernatorial election.
The 2020 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Cory Booker was announced on February 1, 2019. Booker participated in five Democratic presidential debates, but failed to qualify for the sixth debate. He suspended his campaign on January 13, 2020 and later endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, who went on to win the Democratic nomination and the general election.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, also known as the MORE Act, is a proposed piece of U.S. federal legislation that would deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and enact various criminal and social justice reforms related to cannabis, including the expungement of prior convictions.
New Jersey Public Question 1, the Constitutional Amendment To Legalize Marijuana, was a measure that appeared on the November 3, 2020 New Jersey general election ballot. Passing with the largest margin of victory of any statewide cannabis legalization ballot measure in US history, Question 1 legalized the possession and recreational use of cannabis; although planned to go into effect January 1, 2021, implementation was delayed until February 22 due to a dispute between the governor and legislature over penalties for underage cannabis users. Retail sales are also allowed under the amendment.