The advocacy group U.S. Hemp Council will now accept donations for its marijuana legalization efforts at Curaleaf Holdings Inc.'s nearly 140 dispensaries. The group, which accepts small donations generated by rounding sales to the nearest dollar, plans to expand its donation efforts nationally with MariMed Inc. and Standard Wellness dispensaries in the coming months.
The campaign aims to raise money to advance cannabis reform in Congress and make it a major election issue. Customers at retail locations can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar to support legalization.
“Customers at regulated stores feel strongly that cannabis should be federally legal,” said David Culver, senior vice president of the U.S. Hemp Council. “Now they have the opportunity to support the legislation directly at the checkout counter.”
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Stores that will see the promotion include 62 stores in Florida, 18 in Pennsylvania, and eight each in Illinois, Maryland and Arizona.
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Standard Wellness will join the effort this spring, according to a statement from the U.S. Hemp Council. Other major cannabis retailers are expected to join the effort in the coming months in states where cannabis is legal and regulated.
The campaign with Curaleaf ends at the end of February, but the company plans to conduct additional legalization efforts this year.
Proceeds from this effort go directly to the US Hemp Council, a 501(c)4 organization authorized to spend up to 50% of its budget on supporting or opposing candidates for public office.
The U.S. Hemp Council pilot-tested the idea at three Coralif locations in New Jersey in September and October, and is now working to roll it out across the country.
The option to add donations at the point of sale has already been offered at some cannabis dispensaries to fund other causes, such as the Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform.
The national campaign comes after the U.S. Cannabis Council last year launched a super PAC called “Legalize America.” A similar comprehensive fundraising campaign was being considered at the time of its launch.
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Legalize America defines itself as a bipartisan group that uses the traditional tools of super PACs, including scorecards on how elected officials vote, endorsements, and targeted independent spending campaigns to support cannabis reform.
A PAC is a political action committee that raises money to support causes. Super PACs (independent expenditure-only political committees) are committees that may receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other political action committees for the purpose of funding independent expenditures and other independent political activities, according to the Federal Election Commission.
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