Frequently asked questions
Got questions? We've got answers!
Why letters?
We get it. 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!
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!
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.
What else can I do to help #legalizeit?
There is a TON you can do to help the cause after your letters go on their merry way.
First and foremost, you can help spread the word about Letters to Legalize by sharing this website and the Google Form, which can be accessed at tinyurl.com/yourlettertolegalize, with everyone in your circles, and encourage them to sign a letter digitally and share it as well. You can also like and share our Facebook page, and donate to this effort directly at paypal.me/letterstolegalizenj.
If you really want to be a superstar, you can help us with the Letters to Legalize initiative! We primarily need folks to help print, address, and envelope letters. We also host letter signing events from time to time, so we could of course use more canvassers at those events too. If you'd like to inquire about superstardom, drop us a line at letterstolegalizenj@gmail.com. (you're the best!)
Letters are great, and calling and emailing our lawmakers can have a huge impact as well. Here is a script to call your NJ lawmakers about legalization, and NJUMR has an awesome form to email them as well.
There are countless other organizations working on marijuana reform laws right now, such as NORML (and their New Jersey chapter), New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform (NJUMR) (a subsection of the ACLU of NJ), the Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey and of course ACLU People Power which supports Letters to Legalize, who also has lots of other activists in their network working on other important issues as well. See if there is a chapter in your area, and if not, try starting one!
In activism, it's also very important to show up to events if you can. Many of the aforementioned organizations host and attend forums, hearings, rallies and other super important events that help our legislators, the media and the public understand how important marijuana legalization is. We will share as many of these events on our Facebook page as we become aware of them.
How many letters have you sent so far?
We've lost count, but hundreds! More are being sent almost every day. Keep 'em comin'!
Will I receive a response to my letter?
In the vast majority of cases, no. Usually, unless a letter specifically requests a response (ours doesn't), legislators will not write back to you, since they receive so many communications per day that it can be hard for them and their receptionists to keep up. Many of our team members sent our letters in February and March of 2018, and we still have not received responses. We will certainly update the answer to this question if we do.
One of my letters was sent back to me via the USPS's 'Return to Sender.' What happened?
The New Jersey State Legislature website, where we look up who your lawmakers are, is unfortunately from the 90s, so it's bound to have a *few* bugs. One of these inaccuracies is that in a few districts we encountered, particularly District 21, the website has multiple addresses listed for their state Senators and Assemblymembers. In our old process, we would send one letter per address per legislator, which would equate to 7 letters per signer in District 21, and possibly a few other districts, such as District 24, as well. We then called the district offices directly and realized that some of these addresses were completely inaccurate, or that there was a favored office we should send the letters to. Long story short, we will now never send more than three letters per signer (because that's just a waste of valuable stamps anyway). We think we have the correct addresses figured out now, but if you do have any of your letters returned to you in the mail please let us know so that we can look into why that occurred and correct our process for other folks in your district. Thank you for your continued trust, support and understanding.
Why letters?
We get it. 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!
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!
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.
What else can I do to help #legalizeit?
There is a TON you can do to help the cause after your letters go on their merry way.
First and foremost, you can help spread the word about Letters to Legalize by sharing this website and the Google Form, which can be accessed at tinyurl.com/yourlettertolegalize, with everyone in your circles, and encourage them to sign a letter digitally and share it as well. You can also like and share our Facebook page, and donate to this effort directly at paypal.me/letterstolegalizenj.
If you really want to be a superstar, you can help us with the Letters to Legalize initiative! We primarily need folks to help print, address, and envelope letters. We also host letter signing events from time to time, so we could of course use more canvassers at those events too. If you'd like to inquire about superstardom, drop us a line at letterstolegalizenj@gmail.com. (you're the best!)
Letters are great, and calling and emailing our lawmakers can have a huge impact as well. Here is a script to call your NJ lawmakers about legalization, and NJUMR has an awesome form to email them as well.
There are countless other organizations working on marijuana reform laws right now, such as NORML (and their New Jersey chapter), New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform (NJUMR) (a subsection of the ACLU of NJ), the Coalition for Medical Marijuana - New Jersey and of course ACLU People Power which supports Letters to Legalize, who also has lots of other activists in their network working on other important issues as well. See if there is a chapter in your area, and if not, try starting one!
In activism, it's also very important to show up to events if you can. Many of the aforementioned organizations host and attend forums, hearings, rallies and other super important events that help our legislators, the media and the public understand how important marijuana legalization is. We will share as many of these events on our Facebook page as we become aware of them.
How many letters have you sent so far?
We've lost count, but hundreds! More are being sent almost every day. Keep 'em comin'!
Will I receive a response to my letter?
In the vast majority of cases, no. Usually, unless a letter specifically requests a response (ours doesn't), legislators will not write back to you, since they receive so many communications per day that it can be hard for them and their receptionists to keep up. Many of our team members sent our letters in February and March of 2018, and we still have not received responses. We will certainly update the answer to this question if we do.
One of my letters was sent back to me via the USPS's 'Return to Sender.' What happened?
The New Jersey State Legislature website, where we look up who your lawmakers are, is unfortunately from the 90s, so it's bound to have a *few* bugs. One of these inaccuracies is that in a few districts we encountered, particularly District 21, the website has multiple addresses listed for their state Senators and Assemblymembers. In our old process, we would send one letter per address per legislator, which would equate to 7 letters per signer in District 21, and possibly a few other districts, such as District 24, as well. We then called the district offices directly and realized that some of these addresses were completely inaccurate, or that there was a favored office we should send the letters to. Long story short, we will now never send more than three letters per signer (because that's just a waste of valuable stamps anyway). We think we have the correct addresses figured out now, but if you do have any of your letters returned to you in the mail please let us know so that we can look into why that occurred and correct our process for other folks in your district. Thank you for your continued trust, support and understanding.