Former Trump Advisor Roger Stone Forms Coalition to Legalize Marijuana Nationwide
Roger Stone, a political consultant and lobbyist who served as an advisor for President Trump during his campaign, has formed a bipartisan coalition which goal is to help legalize marijuana across the United states.
Roger Stone. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Roger Stone announced the formation of the United States Cannabis Coalition (USCC) on Friday during the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo in New York. As noted by Business Insider, the USCC is registered with the IRS as a section 527 nonprofit, the same tax-exempt status that applies to political action committees.
“I am going to be working with a coalition of Republicans and Democrats, progressives and libertarians, liberals, and conservatives to persuade the president to keep his campaign pledge,” says Stone, “and to remind the president that he took a strong and forthright position on this issue in the election.”
According to stone, former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, a longtime supporter of legalizing marijuana, will join Stone in the advocacy group, as well as a host of both Republican and Democrat political strategists.
Stone said the mission of the coalition goes beyond outright legalization, with the group also preparing to advocate for rescheduling marijuana on the federal level to allow doctors to legally prescribe.
In addition, the group will work to ensure that the federal government won’t interfere with state-level marijuana laws, something marijuana proponents fear is forthcoming with marijuana opponent Jeff Sessions as attorney general.