By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

Big cannabis companies are backing a new, celebrity-infused campaign to enlist marijuana users to pressure members of Congress to legalize pot nationwide.

Federal legalization has advanced somewhat but still faces strong headwinds on Capitol Hill. The “Cannabis in Common” initiative launched Tuesday aims to change that.

A website makes it easier for supporters to email or call their congressional representatives and push for making marijuana legal. State-licensed pot companies also plan to email their customers, put up posters in shops, add information to their apps and otherwise encourage consumers to get involved.

“Legalizing cannabis is long past due, and if we make enough noise, we can make it happen,” actor Seth Rogen, co-founder of a cannabis company and enthusiastic user of the drug, says in a kickoff video. Comedian Sarah Silverman voices another, animated promo.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational adult use of marijuana and a voter-approved measure in a 19th state, South Dakota, is undergoing a court challenge. More than two-thirds of states allow medical marijuana.

But pot remains illegal under federal law to possess, use or sell, so many banks shun money from the cannabis industry, fearing it could expose them to federal legal trouble.

That conflict has shut many legal growers and sellers out of everyday financial services like opening bank accounts or obtaining credit cards. It also has forced many businesses to operate only in cash, making them ripe targets for crime.

Pro-legalization groups have mounted state and federal campaigns for years, and advocates are split about “Cannabis in Common,” which isn’t focused on any particular piece of legislation. Organizers say it breaks ground by extensively involving major industry players and mobilizing their customers.

“We just feel there’s a larger, untapped group of individuals that we would love to see weigh in,” said Steve Hawkins, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry-led coalition organizing the campaign with HeadCount, a voter registration group. The council declined to disclose the cost.

While cannabis companies have done individual lobbying, this new effort “reaches across all the peccadilloes that every weed interest brings to the table” in hopes of getting past the patchwork of state legislation, said Jeremy Unruh, a senior vice president of PharmCann Inc., which has dispensaries in six states.

More than two dozen companies have signed on, including the vaping brand Pax and such publicly traded corporations as Canopy Growth, Curaleaf Holdings and Cronos Group.

The effort quickly drew criticism from a national anti-legalization group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana. CEO Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration official, called the campaign “an egregious example of profit over public health.”

Some nonprofit, pro-legalization groups are joining the “Cannabis in Common” initiative. But others are steering clear.

The Drug Policy Alliance sees the campaign as overly corporate and not dedicated enough to expunging past marijuana convictions and helping communities and people who have borne the brunt of pot arrests.

“For us, it’s not just about getting federal legalization over the finish line,” says Maritza Perez of the alliance, which convened the nonprofit-focused Marijuana Justice Coalition in 2018 to push for legalization coupled with other reforms. “We have a very specific constituency that we are fighting for, and that’s people who have been impacted by prohibition.”

NORML, one of the nation’s oldest legalization groups, is sitting out the new campaign and focusing on specific congressional proposals to make marijuana federally legal, political director Justin Strekal said.

A proposal to decriminalize and tax marijuana, expunge federal pot convictions and direct pot tax money to communities beleaguered by the “war on drugs” passed the House last year. The measure was reintroduced in this year’s new Congress and recently passed a key committee again.

President Joe Biden has said he supports decriminalizing marijuana and expunging past pot use convictions, but he hasn’t embraced federally legalizing the drug.

A Gallup poll released last week found 68% of Americans favor legalization, including 83% of Democrats, 71% of independents and 50% of Republicans. The survey of 823 adults had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Pointing to such polls, the new campaign casts legalization as an issue that crosses political divides and has new potential in the Democrat-led Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) in July became the chamber’s first leader to back legalizing marijuana, pledging to “make this a priority in the Senate,” where Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon have drafted legislation.

And legalization advocates hope to have a champion in Vice President Kamala Harris, who said before her election that making pot legal at the federal level is the “smart thing to do.” But legalization opponents note that it’s not clear that all Senate Democrats would vote for marijuana legalization, let alone find enough Republican supporters to avoid a filibuster. Congress is otherwise occupied with massive legislation on social services and climate change ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

The Podcast is available on any of these platforms.

We’ve been working on something special and we are excited to finally be able to share our first podcast with everyone (while offering a special thanks to Caliva for being our sponsor)!

Meet Our Host – Kevin Fermin:

Kevin is a cannabis enthusiast and professional with over ten years of cannabis experience. Starting off as a trimmer at the age of 18 Kevin quickly became enamored with the cannabis plant and its medicinal effects along with the change of perception brought along with consumption.  Soon he moved into the retail space and fell in love with the satisfaction of providing the public with alternative methods of pain and psychiatric management.

Meet our Guest Host – Betty Blazed:

Betty is a cannabis influencer and advocate on Instagram and The WeedTube. You also may have seen her on TikTok as @thatbishbetty! But besides all that, she is just a girl who enjoys getting high, geeking out and talking your ear off about weed. Her love for Mary Jane has been growing for a while now. Before moving out to Southern California, she lived in both Oregon & Hawaii; two unique climates for growing cannabis and cultivating her knowledge. When she made the move to California, her eyes were opened wide by the cannabis scene here! “It’s a new wave, and I want to ride it!” she thought. “I wanted to be part of something big, to help educate and guide others, all while doing what I love most, smoking weed!”

Enjoy listing to Kevin and Betty on our first podcast – The Cannifornian Podcast!

Listen in as they discuss fun, safe and educational information to learn about and stay up to date on the cannabis and CBD industry. For upcoming podcasts, we’ll continue to do a deep dive into legalization, health and wellness benefits, culture, and much more!

Follow us on Anchor, Spotify, Apple and Google Podcast at The Cannifornian Podcast!⁠

Photo: Marshawn Lynch with a cloud of smoke. (Photo: Courtesy of Dodi Blunts)

Former Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch is going into “Beast Mode” again. This time his efforts have a different focus: launching his new brand of “diamond-infused” marijuana products, Dodi Blunts. For those who might wonder, “dodi” is a slang term that refers to high-quality cannabis. Dodi users will experience the highest, richest potency from palm leaf-wrapped blunts infused with THCa diamonds presented in a reusable blunt tube.

According to an article in the East Bay Times, the former Raiders running back will be partnering with recently founded 2nd and Goal Ventures, a corporation out of Toronto, Canada. Jeff Goldenberg, a founder of 2nd and Goal Ventures, has worked in “white label” marijuana products in Canada, creating products for license holders to sell on their own.

Goldenberg explains that the THCa diamonds are a form of extract from the cannabis plant, and they are the most potent at around 99 percent THC, which is the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana. But don’t worry about getting too high, Dodi’s Blunts won’t be that strong since the diamonds are infused into traditional cannabis flower inside the palm leaf wrap.

Lynch is not new to utilizing his NFL image and getting involved with Culture-focused business ventures. He see’s Dodi Blunts as an investment opportunity that “has the ability to raise up Black and Brown communities — and I intend to lift up those who I can.”

The blunts will launch in March at 24 select dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Dodi Blunts plans to expand to more cannabis products thereafter.