Georgia Senate candidate, Jon Ossoff, is done taking the youth vote for granted. In his runoff bid, he deployed campaign tactics on the social media app “TikTok” to promote his support for marijuana legalization, bolstering efforts to get out the young vote!
Jon Ossoff’s TikTok-tastic Tactic with Marijuana Activism and Information for Youth
About two weeks before the Georgia Senate election, candidate (Now senator) Jon Ossoff took a new-age approach to gather votes by approaching the youngest of eligible voters on the platforms they use most frequently. This proved to be an advantageous strategy as it ultimately resulted in a victory for Ossoff. He was one of the only few to try and encourage young voters (primarily Gen Z) by dedicating part of his platform to TikTok. While many criticized this questionable approach, others found it to be quite entertaining, educational, and relatable.
In his viral TikTok, he promoted his agenda with a trend that had been recently going viral. Ossoff’s TikTok starts with him placing a call (or at least pretending to) for a food delivery, and then having to spell out his name like so, “Hey, yeah I’d like to place an order for pickup please. Yeah, it’s Jon. ‘J’ as in jobs.
‘O’ as in over 1.5 million Georgians have voted early in the runoff for U.S. Senate and if you want to relieve student loan debt, save the environment, legalize marijuana and increase the minimum wage to $15, you better vote now.
And ‘N’ is for New Civil Rights Act.”
Democratic Wins and Cannabis Federal Change Coming
It definitely is not the first instance of politicians going to new lengths to be seen as relatable to younger generations; who could forget when Hillary Clinton confidently proclaimed “Pokemon GO, TO THE POLLS” to many a cringe. One thing for certain is how the runoff results will impact the prospects for marijuana reform next year.
With both Ossoff and Senator Raphael Warnock, the other winning Democrat in the race, taking wins in Georgia, it has made the demand for cannabis and drug policy reform a forefront issue in Congress. Chuck Schumer, who is now the Majority Leader of the US Senate, also took a pledge to help bring marijuana legislation to the floor, which will only reinforce the people’s will to change the status quo on cannabis policy.
The Democrats taking control of the Senate will likely result in some form of change in attitudes towards current drug regulations, whether it be through the allowance of banking for cannabis businesses, decriminalization, or even full legalization of marijuana. Instead of turning a blind eye and refusing to address cannabis reform as the previously Republican-dominated Senate was infamous for, we actually have a viable path forward now.
National Efforts for Activism From Marijuana Enthusiasts
Senator Jon Ossoff is a man who is not at all afraid of calling out the status quo beneficiaries who, “take millions and millions from drug companies that produce highly addictive opiates that have ravaged this country” and “take millions from the alcoholic beverages industry, where alcohol is more destructive to the human body and mind than cannabis.”
He continued on in his interview with Rolling Out to say that, “They allow Black people in particular to be arrested and incarcerated and destroy their opportunities for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses. Cannabis should be legalized, regulated and taxed.”
Ossoff continued his interview with, “I’m not just for decriminalization. I’m for full legalization of marijuana nationwide and the expungement of all records for nonviolent cannabis-related offenses. We need to reform our nation’s drug laws, legalize cannabis [and] stop locking people up for nonviolent drug related offenses.” We couldn’t agree more with Jon Ossoff. We hope this win along with that of his fellow Georgia Senator Warnock will positively shape the world of cannabis policy in the coming months and continue the much needed progressive approaches to fixing comminutes ravaged and harmed by the War on Drugs.
Additional Resources:
At The Weed Blog, we strive to share the latest online news resources regarding marijuana. We also review various strains of cannabis or other edible and combustible counterparts. We are committed to helping you find valuable information about marijuana on our website. With marijuana laws constantly changing, learn from us what you can do to promote activism in your area. Otherwise, consider these other top-tier articles regarding cannabis:
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