New York - Roger Stone, longtime political advisor to President Donald J. Trump and subject of the hit Netflix documentary “Get Me Roger Stone” and Orlando Trial Attorney and potential Democratic candidate for Governor of Florida John Morgan today unveiled the United States Cannabis Coalition, a bi-partisan, pro-cannabis non-profit project dedicated to persuading federal decision makers -- including the president – to support the states’ rights when it comes to marijuana laws. The USCC is a project of the United States Freedom Coalition, according to a press release.
Morgan practices law at Morgan and Morgan -- one of the country’s pre-eminent personal injury law firms -- and was largely responsible for the successful constitutional amendment to legalize medicinal marijuana in Florida. Stone has been advocating for legalization throughout his storied career in the political arena.
The coalition’s principal goal is to urge President Trump to honor the pledge he made during the 2016 campaign to support the states’ authority to legalize possession and distribution of cannabis. To date, 29 states have exercised this authority to various degrees.
“I am highly confident that Donald Trump will protect the access of millions of Americans including our veterans who are currently using cannabis for medicinal purposes” said Stone, who has been a formal and informal advisor to Donald Trump for over 40 years. “I am confident the President will keep his pledge.”
Both Stone and Morgan said that the new coalition which includes a cross section of Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians and Progressives would also urge the President to change the classification of marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug where it is currently grouped with LSD and heroin. Such a move would allow doctors to prescribe it for patients who they believe would benefit.
Derrick Kitts, the former producer of NBC’s Morning Joe will serve as a Senior Consultant to the Coalition and Ryan Criscuolo of Denver, Colorado will serve as Executive Director.
"All Americans can and should come together to stop the war on marijuana. It can no longer be a Schedule 1 narcotic. Pain, disease, and mental illness don’t pick political parties – just people. This is the perfect issue for ‘strange bedfellows’ to come together on and WIN,” said Morgan.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly have both called for a crackdown on marijuana and resumption of the enforcement of Federal laws prohibiting marijuana possession and distribution in the states that have legalized cannabis in contravention of President Trump’s stated position during the campaign.
“The Obama Administration wisely suspended aggressive enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana possession and distribution,” said Morgan, “Attorney General Eric Holder’s directive on the subject chose to respect states’ rights. Unbelievably, now Sessions and Kelly, egged on by the likes of Governor Chris Christie and the new FBI Director, want to void the Holder directive, revive the war on drugs, and prosecute those who are making legal medicinal marijuana available even though their boss has indicated that he doesn’t share their draconian views on the subject.” Morgan concluded.
Stone noted that Sessions had written Congress specifically requesting authority to wage a crackdown on medicinal marijuana after House Republicans passed an appropriations amendment prohibiting the Attorney General from doing so. Former presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer also said a crackdown was coming on more than one occasion.
“The results on legalized marijuana are in” said Morgan. “Opioid deaths are down, opioid related crimes are down, all classes of petty crime are down while state and county revenues have soared. More importantly millions of Americans including our Veterans are getting the medicine they need.”
“These Trump administration officials are disserving the president and ignoring the forthright position he took during the campaign,” said Stone who served as Chairman of Donald Trump’s Presidential Exploratory Committee in 2000 and was a paid consultant to Trump’s exploratory efforts in 2012. Stone resigned from Trump’s 2016 campaign only to reemerge as one of the most active and effective Trump surrogates. He is the author of the bestseller “The Making of the President 2016 – How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution."
Joining Stone and Morgan on the USCC advisory board at launch are Fox News Legal Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, National Co-chair Republican National Committee Thomas B Evans, Jr, WBAI radio commentator and Democratic US Senate candidate Randy Credico, Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg), Omar Navarro Republican Candidate for Congress 43rd District - CA, Norm Kent Chairman National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Congressman Matt Gaetz R- Fla., NY State Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), Christian Josi Former Executive Director American Conservative Union, Assemblyman Ron Castorina, Chairman of the Staten Island Republican Committee, Director of the National Indian Cannabis Coalition Jeff Doctor, Former California Superior Court Judge and 2012 Libertarian Party candidate for Vice President Jim Gray, Elizabeth Everett Texans for Trump, longtime columnist and activist Deroy Murdock, Pastor Mark Burns, Easley S.C., CATO Institute Scholar Doug Bandow, State Rep. Shamed Dogan R- Mo, Guardian Angels Founder and Chairman of The New York State Reform Party Curtis Sliwa, Sgt Gary Wiegert St. Louis Police Dept, State Rep. Ethan Orr (R-Tucson) - Partial List. Advisory Board in formation.
“It is our intention to identify, reach, and mobilize, millions of pro-cannabis voters to urge the president to keep his word. It is our intention to press the Trump Administration from the top down to recognize the medicinal value and economic potential of cannabis” said Stone. “We have an innovative, outside the box strategy to win this important fight and I am confident that with our support, the president will ultimately keep his word and do the right thing.”
“In the event that the Trump administration does not keep faith with the millions of voters whose medicinal marijuana he promised to protect, we are prepared to take our bi-partisan effort to both houses of Congress to legalize cannabis and its sale federally.” Said Morgan. “With a coalition of Libertarian-minded Republicans and progressive Democrats we will succeed. At least one member of the Senate has already introduced legislation that would legalize cannabis entirely. Stone said the USCC would also support additional federal funding for unbiased research into the medicinal benefits and properties of cannabis. “Extensive and well-funded research in Israel indicates the potential for medical breakthroughs and better research in the United States is vital.”
For more information or to lend your voice and / or financial support to the United States Cannabis Coalition, visit USCannabisCoaltion.org.
Morgan practices law at Morgan and Morgan -- one of the country’s pre-eminent personal injury law firms -- and was largely responsible for the successful constitutional amendment to legalize medicinal marijuana in Florida. Stone has been advocating for legalization throughout his storied career in the political arena.
The coalition’s principal goal is to urge President Trump to honor the pledge he made during the 2016 campaign to support the states’ authority to legalize possession and distribution of cannabis. To date, 29 states have exercised this authority to various degrees.
“I am highly confident that Donald Trump will protect the access of millions of Americans including our veterans who are currently using cannabis for medicinal purposes” said Stone, who has been a formal and informal advisor to Donald Trump for over 40 years. “I am confident the President will keep his pledge.”
Both Stone and Morgan said that the new coalition which includes a cross section of Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians and Progressives would also urge the President to change the classification of marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug where it is currently grouped with LSD and heroin. Such a move would allow doctors to prescribe it for patients who they believe would benefit.
Derrick Kitts, the former producer of NBC’s Morning Joe will serve as a Senior Consultant to the Coalition and Ryan Criscuolo of Denver, Colorado will serve as Executive Director.
"All Americans can and should come together to stop the war on marijuana. It can no longer be a Schedule 1 narcotic. Pain, disease, and mental illness don’t pick political parties – just people. This is the perfect issue for ‘strange bedfellows’ to come together on and WIN,” said Morgan.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly have both called for a crackdown on marijuana and resumption of the enforcement of Federal laws prohibiting marijuana possession and distribution in the states that have legalized cannabis in contravention of President Trump’s stated position during the campaign.
“The Obama Administration wisely suspended aggressive enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana possession and distribution,” said Morgan, “Attorney General Eric Holder’s directive on the subject chose to respect states’ rights. Unbelievably, now Sessions and Kelly, egged on by the likes of Governor Chris Christie and the new FBI Director, want to void the Holder directive, revive the war on drugs, and prosecute those who are making legal medicinal marijuana available even though their boss has indicated that he doesn’t share their draconian views on the subject.” Morgan concluded.
Stone noted that Sessions had written Congress specifically requesting authority to wage a crackdown on medicinal marijuana after House Republicans passed an appropriations amendment prohibiting the Attorney General from doing so. Former presidential Press Secretary Sean Spicer also said a crackdown was coming on more than one occasion.
“The results on legalized marijuana are in” said Morgan. “Opioid deaths are down, opioid related crimes are down, all classes of petty crime are down while state and county revenues have soared. More importantly millions of Americans including our Veterans are getting the medicine they need.”
“These Trump administration officials are disserving the president and ignoring the forthright position he took during the campaign,” said Stone who served as Chairman of Donald Trump’s Presidential Exploratory Committee in 2000 and was a paid consultant to Trump’s exploratory efforts in 2012. Stone resigned from Trump’s 2016 campaign only to reemerge as one of the most active and effective Trump surrogates. He is the author of the bestseller “The Making of the President 2016 – How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution."
Joining Stone and Morgan on the USCC advisory board at launch are Fox News Legal Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, National Co-chair Republican National Committee Thomas B Evans, Jr, WBAI radio commentator and Democratic US Senate candidate Randy Credico, Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg), Omar Navarro Republican Candidate for Congress 43rd District - CA, Norm Kent Chairman National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Congressman Matt Gaetz R- Fla., NY State Senator Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), Christian Josi Former Executive Director American Conservative Union, Assemblyman Ron Castorina, Chairman of the Staten Island Republican Committee, Director of the National Indian Cannabis Coalition Jeff Doctor, Former California Superior Court Judge and 2012 Libertarian Party candidate for Vice President Jim Gray, Elizabeth Everett Texans for Trump, longtime columnist and activist Deroy Murdock, Pastor Mark Burns, Easley S.C., CATO Institute Scholar Doug Bandow, State Rep. Shamed Dogan R- Mo, Guardian Angels Founder and Chairman of The New York State Reform Party Curtis Sliwa, Sgt Gary Wiegert St. Louis Police Dept, State Rep. Ethan Orr (R-Tucson) - Partial List. Advisory Board in formation.
“It is our intention to identify, reach, and mobilize, millions of pro-cannabis voters to urge the president to keep his word. It is our intention to press the Trump Administration from the top down to recognize the medicinal value and economic potential of cannabis” said Stone. “We have an innovative, outside the box strategy to win this important fight and I am confident that with our support, the president will ultimately keep his word and do the right thing.”
“In the event that the Trump administration does not keep faith with the millions of voters whose medicinal marijuana he promised to protect, we are prepared to take our bi-partisan effort to both houses of Congress to legalize cannabis and its sale federally.” Said Morgan. “With a coalition of Libertarian-minded Republicans and progressive Democrats we will succeed. At least one member of the Senate has already introduced legislation that would legalize cannabis entirely. Stone said the USCC would also support additional federal funding for unbiased research into the medicinal benefits and properties of cannabis. “Extensive and well-funded research in Israel indicates the potential for medical breakthroughs and better research in the United States is vital.”
For more information or to lend your voice and / or financial support to the United States Cannabis Coalition, visit USCannabisCoaltion.org.
