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Thomas L. Leto III

Marijuana Gets Political As GOP Convention Gets Underway

Republican National Convention

This week the Republican National Convention has commenced.  The goal of the convention will be to officially nominate former Governor Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate for president of the United States.  The convention has been forced to do a balancing act because Hurricane Isaac has been looming.  The guest speakers, which included Ann Romney, Rick Santorum and Chris Christie, were tasked with the goal of painting Mitt Romney as the man who can turn our country around.  Absent from any of the speeches was marijuana reform, even as it is becoming a large concern for many Americans.  The convention will continue throughout the week, however, since mainstream coverage will ignore the issue, marijuana.net would like to take this time to discuss some political updates that will not make it to the airwaves this week.

The two party system in the United States has disenfranchised many and created a sentiment that we have very limited choices.  This could explain why the United States Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce has now officially endorsed a president that has overseen the largest attack on medical marijuana patients in 16 years.  Fear of Mitt Romney seems to have prompted the endorsement.  Thomas L. Leto III, President and Founder of the group said in a statement this week “The Economic Potential of the Cannabis Business in the U.S. is Limitless and President Obama understands this, It is our impression that Mr. Romney just doesn’t get it.  Mitt Romney is known for his business success and would probably be able to forecast how large the legalized marijuana is set to grow in the coming years.  However, his campaign has been forced to embrace far right wing ideals which would likely prevent him from enacting reform measures.  Many are confident that an Obama second term would see a less toxic atmosphere for marijuana, while many fear the unknown with a Romney presidency.

We would also like to touch on another political issue that will likely fly under the radar this week.  The NAACP has announced their endorsement of Washington States Initiative 502.  New Approach Washington has been instrumental in collecting enough signatures from residents in order to get the issue of marijuana legalization and regulation in front of voters this November.  As reported by marijuana.net last week, the group also backed Colorado’s Ammendment 64, a ballot initiative that will also face a vote by residents and is similar to Washington’s Initiative 502.  NAACP President of the Alaska, Washington State, and Oregon chapter, Oscar Eason, Jr. said “Treating marijuana use as a crime has not only failed, it has perpetuated racial inequities through unequal enforcement.”  He also went on to say “African Americans are no more likely than whites to use marijuana, but we are much more likely to be arrested for it.”  This sentiment also matches the rationale for the NAACP backing of the Colorado legalization efforts.

As the road to the White House unfolds we will continue to provide updates.  Next week is the Democratic National Convention to be held in North Carolina.  While we expect a dodging of the marijuana issue there, we would like to remind the president that he could truly galvanize a large voting base by demonstrating some concern for reform and medical patients.  We would also hope that Hurricane Isaac passes through with minimal damage.  Our hearts, once again, are with the Gulf region.

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