The U.S. Marijuana Party is a cannabis political party in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

founded in 2002 by

Loretta Nall Loretta Nall is the founder of the U.S. Marijuana Party, which calls for the legalization of cannabis. She was a write-in candidate for governor of Alabama in 2006. History Nall founded the USMjParty in 2002. In 2005, she co-founded Alabamian ...

specifically to end the war on drugs and to legalize

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. Their policies also include other socially

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

positions. U.S. Marijuana Party candidates in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

have run campaigns as recently as 2016. The party has had local chapters in several other states, and has been affiliated with international cannabis political parties.

History

2012 presidential election

On September 18, 2012, the U.S. Marijuana Party endorsed

Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...

candidate

Gary Johnson Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th List of governors of New Mexico, governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

in the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

State activity

Colorado

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Wayward Bill Chengelis was U.S. Marijuana Party chairman for many years, until Chengelis' death in 2021.

Illinois

In 2004, Illinois Marijuana Party leader Richard Rawlings ran for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 18th Congressional District as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

. Brian Meyer ran as a write-in candidate in the 12th Congressional District in 2004. Rawlings ran again as a Marijuana Party write-in candidate for Congress in 2010.

Massachusetts

The U.S. Marijuana Party was started in 2002 by Loretta Nall from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

following her

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

arrest for marijuana

possession Possession may refer to: Law *Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance *Drug possession, a crime *Ownership *Pe ...

.United States Marijuana Party (USMJParty) Explains O
Marijuana Benefits
/ref> Nall was the chairwomen of the party until she resigned in 2004 to pursue the

Libertarian Party of Alabama The Libertarian Party of Alabama (LPA) is the Alabama affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). It is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Due to the high signature requirement to get onto the ballot and the requirement that a party run ...

's nomination for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Nebraska

In 2015–2016, Zach Boiko, Mark Elworth Jr., and

Krystal Gabel Krystal Gabel (born October 14, 1984) is an American cannabis rights activist, perennial candidate, and writer. Gabel, a candidate for governor of Nebraska in the 2018 election, at age 33 was the youngest of a record number of women who ran for g ...

collected signatures for Marijuana Party of Nebraska to be officially recognized. In order to make the ballot, petitioners needed 5,397 signatures statewide. The party also must have a certain number of signatures from each of the state's three congressional districts. In July, 2016, volunteers turned in 9,000 signatures to the

Nebraska Secretary of State Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sou ...

. However, the Secretary of State said that half of the signatures were invalid, falling short of the 5,397 needed. In 2016, the group changed its name to

Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW is a political Third party (United States), third party in the U.S. state of Nebraska established in 2016 as the state affiliate of the Legal Marijuana Now Party. In 2022, Legal Marijuana NOW Party ran more candidate ...

, and organizers began petitioning for 2018 ballot access.

New Jersey

Rastafari cannabis rights activist and businessman Edward Forchion, who founded the

Legalize Marijuana Party The Legalize Marijuana Party is a political third party in the U.S. state of New Jersey established in 1998 by Edward Forchion to protest cannabis Prohibition of drugs, prohibition. Gubernatorial candidates Forchion was nominated by petition to ...

in 1998 in New Jersey, ran for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is a suburban district in southern and central New Jersey. Centrally located on the I-95 corridor in the Northeast Megalopolis, at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region in the greater Phi ...

in 2004 as a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate. Forchion got 4,914 votes.

Results in federal elections

Vermont

Independent candidate Cris Ericson ran for

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

in 2002 as a Make Marijuana Legal candidate. In 2004, Ericson ran for Vermont governor and

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

as a Marijuana Party candidate. She went on to compete in 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2016 in Republican Party and Democratic Party primaries, and for multiple state and federal offices as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate. Ericson, a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate for United States Senator and Governor of Vermont in 2010, 2012, and 2016, ran a marijuana party write-in campaign for U.S. Senate in 2024.

Results in gubernatorial elections

Results in Vermont state elections

Results in federal elections

Washington

In the Washington State House of Representatives District 2b election, in 2014, retired union official Rick Payne was on the August primary ballot as a Marijuana Party candidate. In Washington the top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election. Payne received 1,644 votes (9.3%). Defeated by the incumbent, a Republican, and a Libertarian candidate, Payne did not make it into the November general election.

References

External links

Official website

State chapters

PENNSYLVANIA Tom Johnson

KENTUCKY Sheree Krider

ILLINOIS Richard J. Rawlings
{{United States political parties, state=collapsed Cannabis political parties of the United States Political parties established in 2002 Libertarian parties in the United States Political parties in the United States 2002 establishments in the United States 2002 in cannabis Cannabis law reform organizations based in the United States

History

2012 presidential election

State activity

Colorado

Illinois

Massachusetts

Nebraska

New Jersey

Results in federal elections

Vermont

Results in gubernatorial elections

Results in Vermont state elections

Results in federal elections

Washington

See also

References

External links

State chapters