Unfortunately you either live in a municipality that does not have a mayor or we don't have contact info for your mayor on file. If you are able to find info for your mayor, please copy and paste the text of our letter into an email.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors will vote on this resolution at its annual meeting, June 21-24.
If you are a mayor and wish to add your name as a co-sponsor, please email [email protected] prior to June 21. You do not need to attend the annual meeting to be listed as a co-sponsor.
PRIMARY SPONSOR:
The Honorable Bob Filner
Mayor of San Diego, California
CO-SPONSORS:
The Honorable Mike McGinn
Mayor of Seattle, Washington
The Honorable Carolyn Goodman
Mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada
The Honorable Jean Quan
Mayor of Oakland, California
The Honorable Steve Hogan
Mayor of Aurora, Colorado
The Honorable Marilyn Strickland
Mayor of Tacoma, Washington
The Honorable Kitty Piercy
Mayor of Eugene, Oregon
The Honorable William Euille
Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia
The Honorable Jamie Matthews
Mayor of Santa Clara, California
The Honorable Tom Bates
Mayor of Berkeley, California
The Honorable Gayle McLaughlin
Mayor of Richmond, California
The Honorable Stephen Cassidy
Mayor of San Leandro, California
The Honorable Kelli Linville
Mayor of Bellingham, Washington
The Honorable Jean M. Robb
Mayor of Deerfield Beach, Florida
The Honorable Daniel Rizzo
Mayor of Revere, Massachusetts
The Honorable Matthew Ryan
Mayor of Binghamton, New York
The Honorable Alex Morse
Mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts
The Honorable Mike Dunafon
Mayor of Glendale, Colorado
IN SUPPORT OF STATES SETTING THEIR OWN MARIJUANA POLICIES WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE
WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors has long advocated for a fair and effective criminal justice system; and
WHEREAS, despite the prohibition of marijuana and the 22 million marijuana arrests that have occurred in the U.S. since 1965, including 757,969 marijuana arrests in 2011 alone, federal studies estimate that 42 percent of Americans have used marijuana, including over 18 million people who admit to having used it within the past month; and
WHEREAS, enforcing the costly and ineffective prohibition on marijuana drains limited resources that could be better spent on programs that more effectively serve the public and keep our cities safe from serious and violent crime; and
WHEREAS, the impact of these costs are felt particularly strongly on the local level due to the fact that 97 percent of marijuana arrests are conducted by municipal or state law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, the illegal market for marijuana is dominated by organized crime: The U.S. Department of Justice reports that Mexican cartels operate drug distribution networks in more than 1,000 U.S. cities and that “marijuana distribution in the United States remains [their] single largest source of revenue,” while drug policy and law enforcement officials, including former White House drug czar John Walters and former Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard, have estimated that cartels make as much as 60 percent of their profits from marijuana alone; and
WHEREAS, rates of marijuana sales and use are similar across racial and ethnic groups, but people of color are arrested, convicted, sentenced and incarcerated at higher rates and for longer periods of time; and
WHEREAS, during the 2012 election, Colorado and Washington State voters strongly approved measures to tax and regulate adult use of marijuana, while 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical purposes and 16 states do not treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as a criminal offense; and
WHEREAS, several other states are considering reforms that will allow them to more effectively and responsibly control marijuana use and sales among adults in their jurisdictions in a way that reduces costs and crime and improves public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, federal law prohibits the use of marijuana for any reason, and federal agencies have regularly interfered with the operation of state medical marijuana laws – despite President Obama’s comments that such actions are “not a good use of our resources” and his administration’s pledge not “to circumvent state laws on this issue”; and
WHEREAS, a recent Gallup poll found that 64 percent of Americans believe that states should be able to reform their marijuana policies without federal interference; and
WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 75th Annual Meeting declaring the war on drugs a failure and calling for a health-centered reorientation of drug policy that gives “cities, counties and states the flexibility they need to find the most effective way to deal with drugs, save taxpayer dollars and keep their communities safe;” and
WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 78th Annual Meeting recognizing that, for many people, medical marijuana is the safest and most effective medicine to treat their conditions, including returning veterans suffering from PTSD, chronic pain or other service-related injuries and illnesses; and
WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 80th Annual Meeting noting that the growing state-federal conflict on marijuana policies “frustrates our citizens, costs cities significant time and resources to address, and prevents the establishment of a regulated and safe system to supply patients” who may need medical marijuana; and urging the federal government to reclassify marijuana “so qualifying patients who follow state law may obtain the medication they need through the traditional and safe method of physician prescribing and pharmacy dispensing;”
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors reaffirms its support of fair and effective criminal justice and drug policies and reiterates its previous call for the reclassification of marijuana under federal law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors recognizes that its members have differing views on how to treat marijuana in their cities, and believes that states and localities should be able to set whatever marijuana policies work best to improve the public safety and health of their communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors believes that federal laws, including the Controlled Substance Act, should be amended to explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana policies without federal interference; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until such time as federal law is changed, the United States Conference of Mayors urges the President of the United States to reexamine the priorities of federal agencies to prevent the expenditure of resources on actions that undermine the duly enacted marijuana laws of states.
Thanks to your emails, phone calls, and tweets, on June 25, the U.S. Conference of Mayors voted unanimously to adopt a resolution demanding that the federal government respect state and local marijuana laws.
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We’ll call your phone and then connect you to your mayor’s office. A script will help you know what to say.
This is a project of Marijuana Majority. See who else is speaking out.
To the Honorable Mayor YOUR MAYOR:
My name is YOUR NAME and I live in YOUR CITY.
As your constituent, I am writing to encourage you to support a bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution that urges the federal government to allow states and cities to implement their own marijuana laws without interference.
The resolution will be voted on this month at the Conference’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, and you can read it at http://MarijuanaMajority.com/mayors?mayor=true
An increasing number of states and cities across the country are moving away from the criminalization of marijuana and are setting new policies they feel work better for their communities. Whether or not you think marijuana should be criminalized in YOUR CITY, I hope you at least agree that our voters’ federal tax dollars should not be spent arresting people who are abiding by local laws in other cities.
A recent Gallup poll showed that 64 percent of Americans want states to be able to set their own marijuana laws without federal harassment. And the Pew Research Center recently found that the majority of Americans now think marijuana should be legalized, regulated and taxed like alcohol. Keeping marijuana illegal is ineffective at preventing use, results in people getting criminal records they don’t deserve and allows violent drug cartels and gangs to make billions of dollars in tax-free profits every year in the black market.
But as an increasing number of states around the country have begun to chart a new course away from marijuana prohibition, the federal government has too often interfered with effective implementation of these local reforms.
That’s why a bipartisan group of local leaders is working to get the U.S. Conference of Mayors to pass a resolution urging the feds to stop standing in the way of change.
Again, you can see the resolution, as well as the list of mayors who have already signed on as co-sponsors, at: http://MarijuanaMajority.com/mayors?mayor=true
This issue is important to me, and I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.
Sincerely, your constituent,
YOUR NAME
To the Honorable YOUR MAYOR:
My name is YOUR NAME and I live in YOUR CITY.
I’m proud to have a mayor like you who has spoken out for the need to replace failed marijuana prohibition policies with a new approach. I’m writing to encourage you to support a bipartisan resolution on this topic that will soon be voted on by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
The resolution says that cities and states that adopt sensible marijuana policies should be able to implement them without interference from the federal government. As your constituent, I urge you to support, co-sponsor and vote for this sensible measure at the Conference’s annual meeting in Las Vegas this month.
The full text of the resolution and a list of current co-sponsors is online at http://MarijuanaMajority.com/mayors?mayor=true
Polls show that the majority of voters across the country agree with you that it’s time to change the marijuana laws. Several states have recently upgraded their policies to allow for personal or medical use, and many other states are currently considering such changes.
But too often the federal government has thrown up roadblocks to effective implementation of these local reforms. We need mayors who care about this issue to team up and encourage the Obama administration to start doing the right thing by letting cities and states enact forward-thinking approaches that work best for their communities.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors has already passed a number of resolutions pushing for a more sensible approach to marijuana and drug policies. Now that Colorado and Washington are moving forward to replace marijuana prohibition with a legal and regulated approach, we need to further amplify the voices of local officials and encourage the federal government to not stand in the way.
If you’re a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, will you add your name as a co-sponsor of the bipartisan marijuana resolution? Please get in contact with leaders of the organization Marijuana Majority, who can put you in touch with chief sponsor Mayor Bob Filner and get you added. They can be reached at [email protected]
Thanks again for your leadership on this important issue.
Sincerely, your constituent,
YOUR NAME
To the Honorable Mayor YOUR MAYOR:
My name is YOUR NAME and I live in YOUR CITY.
As your constituent, I’m writing to thank you for working to get the U.S. Conference of Mayors to urge the federal government to respect state and local marijuana laws.
From the impact on policing budgets to the crime and violence generated by the illegal nature of the marijuana trade, mayors like you see the impact of failed prohibition policies in cities and towns every day, and the voices of you and your colleagues are absolutely crucial to this debate.
It’s going to make a huge impact when the U.S. Conference of Mayors passes your bipartisan resolution amplifying the voices of local officials who want the federal government to give forward-thinking city and state marijuana laws a chance to be implemented properly.
Voters in YOUR CITY support what you are doing. Thanks again for your leadership on this important issue.
Sincerely, your constituent,
YOUR NAME
"My name is YOUR NAME and I'm a YOUR CITY resident. I'm calling to follow up on an email I just sent requesting that the mayor support a U.S. Conference of Mayors resolution that asks the federal government to respect the ability of cities and states to set their own marijuana policies. Whether or not the mayor supports marijuana reform here in YOUR CITY, I hope there'll at least be agreement that the federal government shouldn't stand in the way of localities that set new marijuana enforcement priorities that work best for their communities. In my email, there’s a link to the resolution. Will you please make sure that the mayor is able to take a look at it?"
"My name is YOUR NAME and I'm a YOUR CITY resident. I'm calling to follow up on an email I just sent thanking the mayor for speaking out in favor of reforming our nation's failed marijuana laws. I’m wondering if the mayor would co-sponsor a resolution that will soon be voted on by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It encourages the federal government to respect states and cities that enact sensible marijuana policies. In my email, there’s more info about the resolution and how to team up with the bipartisan group of mayors across the country that are working to pass it. Will you please make sure the mayor has a chance to take a look at it?"
"My name is YOUR NAME and I'm a YOUR CITY resident. I’m calling to follow up on an email I just sent thanking the mayor for joining with colleagues in the U.S. Conference of Mayors to ask the federal government to respect state and local marijuana laws. Polls show the majority of voters want marijuana reform, and it’s great to see elected officials supporting what the people want on an important issue. Will you please make sure to thank the mayor for me?"
