Marijuana reform advocates announced on Wednesday that they’ll be holding a policy forum inside the U.S. Capitol Building on the unofficial cannabis holiday 4/20 that will feature speakers including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The National Cannabis Policy Summit’s Congressional Forum, hosted in the Capitol Visitors Center’s Congressional Auditorium, will bring together advocates, experts, lawmakers, stakeholders and patients for a discussion on the need for federal reform with a focus on promoting equity.
While pro-legalization festivals and forums have been held outside of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. in April in recent years, this policy-centric event—details of which were shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment ahead of the announcement—will be the first of its kind to take place inside the Capitol Building, a sign of the normalization of marijuana issues as more states have enacted legalization and the pressure for federal reform continues to build.
Further underscoring that normalization is the fact that top congressional lawmakers will attend and speak at the event. Schumer is the most high profile legislator to be scheduled to appear, likely discussing his efforts to end federal prohibition while negotiating a deal to enact modest cannabis reforms related to banking and expungements this session.
Also speaking at the event will be Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Dave Joyce (R-OH),…
