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U.S. Marijuana Party | |
---|---|
Chairwoman | Sheree Krider (Kentucky) |
Founded | 2002 |
Ideology | Cannabis legalisation Civil libertarianism |
National affiliation | Legal Marijuana Now |
Colors | Red, white, blue, green |
Website | |
usmjparty | |
The U.S. 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.
On September 18, 2012, the U.S. Marijuana Party endorsed Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson in the 2012 presidential election. [1]
In Colorado, Wayward Bill Chengelis was U.S. Marijuana Party chairman for many years, until Chengelis' death in 2021. [2] [3]
In 2004, Illinois Marijuana Party leader Richard Rawlings ran for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 18th Congressional District as a write-in candidate. Brian Meyer ran as a write-in candidate in the 12th Congressional District in 2004. Rawlings ran again as a Marijuana Party write-in candidate for Congress in 2010. [4] [5]
The U.S. Marijuana Party was started in 2002 by Loretta Nall from Massachusetts following her misdemeanor arrest for marijuana possession. [6] [7] [8] Nall was the chairwomen of the party until she resigned in 2004 to pursue the Libertarian Party of Alabama's nomination for governor. [9]
In 2015–2016, Zach Boiko, Mark Elworth Jr., and Krystal Gabel collected signatures for Marijuana Party of Nebraska to be officially recognized. In order to make the ballot, petitioners needed 5,397 signatures statewide. The party also must have a certain number of signatures from each of the state's three congressional districts. [10] [11]
In July, 2016, volunteers turned in 9,000 signatures to the Nebraska Secretary of State. However, the Secretary of State said that half of the signatures were invalid, falling short of the 5,397 needed. In 2016, the group changed its name to Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party, and organizers began petitioning for 2018 ballot access. [12] [13]
Rastafari cannabis rights activist and businessman Edward Forchion, who founded the Legalize Marijuana Party in 1998 in New Jersey, ran for U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in 2004 as a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate. Forchion got 4,914 votes. [14] [15]
Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | US Representative 3 | Edward Forchion | 4,914 | 1.6% [15] |
Independent candidate Cris Ericson ran for Governor of Vermont in 2002 as a Make Marijuana Legal candidate. In 2004, Ericson ran for Vermont governor and U.S. senator as a Marijuana Party candidate. She went on to compete in 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2016 in Republican Party and Democratic Party primaries, and for multiple state and federal offices as an Independent candidate. Ericson was a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate for U.S. Senator and Governor of Vermont in 2010, 2012, and 2016. Cris Ericson left the marijuana party in January 2018. [16] [17]
Year | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Cris Ericson | 4,221 | 1.4% [18] |
2010 | Cris Ericson | 1,819 | 0.8% [19] |
2012 | Cris Ericson | 5,580 | 1.9% [20] |
Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | VT Senator (Caledonia County) | Galen Dively, III | 2,443 | 9.5% [21] |
Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 6,486 | 2.1% [18] |
2010 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 2,731 | 1.2% [19] |
2012 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 5,919 | 2.0% [20] |
2016 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 9,156 | 2.9% [21] |
In the Washington State House of Representatives District 2b election, in 2014, retired union official Rick Payne was on the August primary ballot as a Marijuana Party candidate. In Washington the top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election. Payne received 1,644 votes (9.3%). Defeated by the incumbent, a Republican, and a Libertarian candidate, Payne did not make it into the November general election. [22]
A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be possible to win an election by winning a sufficient number of such write-in votes, which count equally as if the person were formally listed on the ballot.
The Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party (G–LC) is a political third party in the U.S. state of Minnesota created by Oliver Steinberg in 2014 to oppose cannabis prohibition. G–LC is a democratic socialist party with a background branching from the Grassroots Party established in 1986.
Loretta Nall is the founder of the U.S. Marijuana Party, which calls for the legalization of cannabis. She was a write-in candidate for governor of Alabama in 2006.
The use, sale, and possession of cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs. However, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, including medical, industrial, and recreational use.
Cannabis political parties are generally single-issue parties that exist to oppose the laws against cannabis.
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.
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The Libertarian Party of Nebraska is the Nebraska affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The party is headed by chairperson Chris Childs.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Vermont was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Vermont, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primaries were held August 9.
Cannabis is strictly illegal in Wyoming. The state has some of the strictest cannabis laws in the United States. Cannabis itself is not allowed for medical purposes, but a 2015 law allows limited use of non-psychoactive Cannabidiol. An effort was made to place two initiatives on the 2022 ballot, one to legalize medical cannabis, and the other to decriminalize personal use.
Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra is an American businessman and politician. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections. He also appeared on his own American Delta Party's presidential ticket in 2016, and on those of the Alliance Party and American Independent Party in 2020.
The Legal Marijuana Now Party (LMN) is a political third party in the United States. The party's platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and marijuana. As of 2024, the party has ballot access in Minnesota and Nebraska.
Mark Gerald Elworth Jr. is an American freelance musician, businessman, cannabis rights activist, perennial candidate for public office, and rockhound. Elworth was the Libertarian Party candidate for Governor of Nebraska in 2014 and was the Legal Marijuana Now candidate for Vice President of the United States in 2016.
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Cris Ericson is an American marijuana legalization activist and perennial candidate for public office in Vermont. She has unsuccessfully run for the governorship of Vermont nine times and for a seat in the United States Congress eight times.
Edward 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. In 2020 he legally changed his name to NJ Weedman.
Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW is a political third party in the U.S. state of Nebraska established in 2016 as the state affiliate of the Legal Marijuana Now Party.
Krystal Gabel is an American cannabis rights activist, perennial candidate, and writer. Gabel, a candidate for governor of Nebraska in the 2018 election, at age 33 was the youngest of a record number of women who ran for governorships, nationally. In 2020, Gabel ran for Nebraska Public Service Commission in the Republican primary.
Cannabis political parties of the United States include the Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party, the Legal Marijuana Now Party, and the U.S. Marijuana Party. Also, both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party advocate for the legalization of marijuana.
Cannabis political parties of Minnesota include the Grassroots–Legalize Cannabis Party, the Independence Party, and the Legal Marijuana Now! Party. Also, both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party advocate for the legalization of marijuana.