Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman and Marijuana Giants launch an initiative calling on Congress to legalize pot

By Nina Zdinjak

A new push for cannabis legalization at the federal level has come in the form of a campaign called “Cannabis in Common” launched Tuesday by a coalition of cannabis advocates, big marijuana companies and celebrities like Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman.

The idea behind the initiative, backed by cannabis giants like Canopy Growth (NASDAQ: CGC), Curaleaf Holdings (OTCQX: CURLF), and Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON), is to encourage voters to contact and get in touch with members of Congress are calling for measures to legalize cannabis at the federal level, Associated Press reported.

Photo by Jerod Harris / Stringer / Getty Images

“Cannabis legalization is long overdue, and if we make enough noise, we can do it,” said Rogen, who is known as an avid cannabis enthusiast and co-founder of cannabis company Houseplant.

Silverman added, “Americans can’t agree on anything, can they? Fortunately, most Americans have at least one thing in common: more than two-thirds of us believe cannabis should be legalized, and we now have a real chance of enforcing state legalization if we speak up. “

The launch of a new website will make it easier for cannabis advocates to email or call their congressional officials to insist on marijuana legalization. Cannabis companies also have a few jobs to do: sending emails to their customers, displaying posters in stores, and providing the information they need through their apps to get more consumers to join the fight for nationally legal cannabis.

Just this week, Republicans released their proposal to legalize marijuana, led by MP Nancy Mace (R-SC). The measure, entitled the State Reform Act, is currently in a preliminary form, although a final version is expected to be submitted in November.

Some cannabis advocates see the new cannabis in Common proposal as a smart move, as many don’t believe that the Democrats’ sweeping bill has a chance to pass any chamber before it’s sent to president Joe Biden sign.

Photo by Samuel Corum / Getty Images

While the new proposal is more humble than the Democrats’, which may make it more passable, the big question remains: will President Biden change his stance? So far, the president has opposed state legalization of marijuana, only backing decriminalization, legalizing medical use, and leaving everything else to the states.

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To date, 18 states have legalized recreational marijuana, and up to 37 states now have legal medical marijuana programs.

What do cannabis advocates think of “Cannabis in Common”?

It appears that opinions are divided on the initiative that does not focus on any particular legalization proposal. While many legalization nonprofits support the new initiative, at least one points out some of its shortcomings.

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the Alliance for Drug Policy (DPA) calls the campaign “overly corporate and not committed enough to obliterate previous marijuana convictions and help communities and people who bear the brunt of the cannabis arrests, ”writes The Associated Press.

“For us, it’s not just about getting state legalization across the finish line”, Maritza perez the DPA said. “We have a very specific constituency that we fight for, and those are people who are affected by bans.”

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.