John,
For years, DFA has pushed to end federal cannabis prohibition, to clear the path for legalization, and to reverse the failures of the War on Drugs. That work matters more than ever today after a backdoor hemp ban slipped into the budget threatens to wipe out the legal industry that millions of people rely on.
Under this ban, hemp-derived THC and CBD oils would be criminalized overnight. Workers would lose jobs. Small farmers who invested in equipment, compliance, and state-regulated production would be forced to destroy their crops. Veterans who depend on legal hemp for pain and anxiety relief would be pushed back into criminalized markets.
If Congress does not intervene, one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the country will collapse while corporate giants cheer from the sidelines.
Congress can still stop this disaster. Lawmakers have the authority to reverse the hemp ban, protect the legal market, and finally move toward comprehensive cannabis reform that replaces criminalization with oversight, equity, and science.
Tell Congress to stop the hemp ban and legalize and regulate cannabis nationwide.
Federal prohibition has already done enough damage. Black and brown communities paid the price while wealthy investors built cannabis empires. Repeating those mistakes now, under the guise of regulation, is a deliberate choice to privilege corporate profit over fairness and public safety. The solution is not a ban. The solution is legal national standards that protect consumers, stabilize markets, and end the patchwork chaos created by outdated federal law.
Legal cannabis programs in dozens of states have already proven that regulation reduces harm, increases safety, and generates billions in revenue for schools, roads, and addiction services. Prohibition has never delivered any of those benefits. Yet Congress is choosing prohibition again because corporate lobbyists want to lock down control of a market they did not build and cannot dominate without government intervention.
If this ban takes effect, arrests will increase, and criminal penalties will return. Racial disparities that states have finally begun to undo will deepen. And the promise of cannabis reform as a tool for justice will be pushed further out of reach.
Tell Congress to reverse the hemp ban and legalize and regulate cannabis so the system puts people first.
Let’s build a regulated system that works for everyone.
- DFA AF Team
