Your LetterS to Legalize
This is the world's easiest letter writing campaign. All you need to do is fill out this form with your name and full mailing address, and we will mail your Letters to Legalize to your state Senator and Assemblymembers on your behalf.
Having trouble with the form? You can open the form in a separate window to fill it out.
Having trouble with the form? You can open the form in a separate window to fill it out.
Your letters will help legalize CANNABIS in new jersey
Cannabis legalization is a hot topic among our New Jersey state Senators and Assemblymembers right now. Governor Murphy has assured us all throughout his campaign that he will sign a legalization bill, but a bill has to pass through our state Senate and Assembly before it gets to his desk. This means that it is absolutely vital that our state legislators hear straight from their constituents how important this issue is to all of us!
Once you fill out the letter form, we will send three letters on your behalf: one to your New Jersey state Senator, and two to each of your New Jersey Assemblymembers.
While we are very excited to mail your letters, stamps are getting a bit pricey nowadays (50 cents each!) so if you can afford it, we are offering signers the opportunity to donate $1.50 (the price of three stamps) or $4.20 (another classic choice to also help pay for ink, paper, envelopes, pens, etc.), or any other amount you can, to paypal.me/letterstolegalizenj.
Letters to Legalize is supported by ACLU People Power.
Once you fill out the letter form, we will send three letters on your behalf: one to your New Jersey state Senator, and two to each of your New Jersey Assemblymembers.
While we are very excited to mail your letters, stamps are getting a bit pricey nowadays (50 cents each!) so if you can afford it, we are offering signers the opportunity to donate $1.50 (the price of three stamps) or $4.20 (another classic choice to also help pay for ink, paper, envelopes, pens, etc.), or any other amount you can, to paypal.me/letterstolegalizenj.
Letters to Legalize is supported by ACLU People Power.
Our commitment to racial justiceLegalizing the adult use of cannabis is a multi-faceted, intersectional issue.
As our letter states, Black people are three times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite similar usage rates. People of color also face harsher sentences and higher fines on average than their white peers in our courts. Cannabis-related arrests also disproportionately impact low-income people, since an arrest can often cost thousands of dollars in lawyer rates, fines, and other court fees. Possession charges can result in the loss of a job, loss of immigration status, loss of financial aid for colleges, damaging relationships, fines, prison sentences, or bans from public housing or adoption for years. Punishments like these disproportionately impact immigrants, Black and Hispanic people, and low-income communities. As important as it is to be able to tax and regulate cannabis and its resulting market, legalization must also include measures to heal the harm caused by decades of prohibition and its injustices by: • Providing automatic and retroactive expungements of criminal records due to cannabis-related convictions. • Providing a meaningful way for New Jersey’s entrepreneurs to participate in the legal market, with an emphasis on the inclusion of business owners of color. • Providing concrete measures that ensure reinvestment in communities of color and low-income areas that have been targets of the War on Drugs. • Allow for home grow in order to ensure accessibility of cannabis to all New Jersey citizens regardless of ability, income or residence location. Let's work together to not only #legalizeit, but do so in a way that benefits everyone in an equitable way. |
Why Letters?
Great question! Letter writing campaigns have stood the test of time. Here's why!
Legislators are constantly bombarded with emails and calls. While calling and emailing are also effective, and you should absolutely do these things too, letters are a physical paper trail that shows up at their offices and demands their attention. Nothing says policy change like a physical stack of hundreds of papers on your desk!
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You're probably thinking, wow, snail mail is so last century. And given our current digital methods of communicating, you are not wrong. Since not many people actually send mail anymore, we will have an even greater impact because our letters will take up a good chunk of our legislators' mailbox space, and be a physical reminder of how important this issue is to all of us!
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There are a lot of reasons why someone might not send a letter for a cause. Maybe they're too busy working the only job they could get because of a previous marijuana conviction. Maybe they're motor or visually impaired and paper communications are not the best for them. Maybe they can't afford stamps. Maybe they don't have access to a printer. We are here to eliminate any obstacles anyone might have with communicating with their New Jersey legislators.
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