Snoop Dogg has officially joined the fight to legalize marijuana federally. Clearly, the 49-year-old rapper — who just released a song titled “Roaches In My ashtray” — has been an advocate for decades.
POLITICO reports the rapper has teamed up with billionaire Charles Koch and criminal justice reform champion Weldon Angelos to form The Cannabis Freedom Alliance. The coalition, which spawned from a Zoom call, launched Tuesday (April 6).
Their mission is to change the minds of Republican lawmakers who are on the fence or totally against legalizing marijuana. Currently, there are only a select few members of the party who support the issue. Most of the legislators who will potentially back a bill are Democrats.
“We can’t cut with one scissor blade,” said Angelos. “We need Republicans in order to pass [a legalization bill].” Angelos is the founder of the Weldon Project, a nonprofit he created after serving 13 years of a 55-year sentence for marijuana trafficking charges. Former President Donald Trump pardoned him last December.
Since 15 states have already legalized the recreational use of marijuana for eligible residents and Democrats currently in control of the Senate, Angelos hopes his connections with Snoop and Mr. Koch will sway about a dozen Republicans to vote yay on a bill Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has already said he will back. “We need 10 to 12 Republican senators,” Angelos said. “With Koch’s influence, I think that’s likely a possibility.”
Koch’s own advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, is very influential among conservatives. In a statement, the organization’s chief governmental affairs officer Brent W. Gardner said, “Americans for Prosperity is excited to work alongside our partners to bring cannabis businesses into the light, replacing black and gray markets with a free and fair legal framework. Cannabis commerce will become a way for Americans to lift themselves up, rather than a barrier holding them back.”