Participants Will Include Members of Law Enforcement, Legislators, Progressive, and Conservatives
On Saturday, April 13, Show-Me Cannabis will host a statewide conference on cannabis law reform at the Crowne Plaza Downtown at 200 N. Fourth Street in Saint Louis. Beginning at 11:00 A.M. and running until 6:00 P.M., the conference will attract participants from across Missouri and nearby states. The event is co-sponsored by Missouri NORML and Greater Saint Louis NORML.
The conference will feature panel discussions with individuals who approach cannabis policy from a variety of different perspectives, but all agree that the laws prohibiting marijuana have failed and require immediate reforms. In addition to cannabis law reform activists, speakers will include members of law enforcement, notable progressives and conservatives, and local and state legislators.
Lieutenant Tony Ryan, who retired from the Denver Police Department after 36 years as a police officer, will deliver the keynote address. During his career, Lieutenant Ryan earned the Denver Police Department’s Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Merit Award, and Community Service Award. He is now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), and last year, he helped promote the passage of Colorado’s Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in Colorado and creates a structure for its regulated use, sale, and production.
Other notable speakers include Missouri state Representatives Mike Colona (D – Saint Louis, tentatively), Paul Curtman (R – Pacific), and Rory Ellinger (D – University City), Saint Louis Alderman Shane Cohn, Riverfront Times founder and Donnybrook co-host Ray Hartmann, Bill Hennessy and Sergeant Gary Wiegert of the Saint Louis Tea Party, and former U.S. Assistant Attorney David Rosen.
“I am extremely pleased with the political diversity of our speakers,” said Show-Me Cannabis Regulation Executive Director John Payne. “We have law enforcement and legislators, conservatives and liberals, and Democrats and Republicans. This just goes to show that people of all backgrounds can see the absurdity of cannabis prohibition.”
Tickets are $10 for general admission or $5 for students. If you are disabled or a member of the media and would like your admission fee waived, email John Payne at [email protected].
To see the full schedule or purchase tickets, go to show-mecannabis.com/events. Please note that the names of the institutions speakers are affiliated with are for identification purposes only and do not indicate institutional endorsements of the speaker’s views.
Show-Me Cannabis Regulation is an association of organizations and individuals, who believe that cannabis prohibition is a failed policy, and regulating and taxing cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol would better control the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis than the current criminal market system does. The group seeks to engage Missourians in a serious, public discussion about the issues associated with marijuana consumption, including medical cannabis, industrial hemp, public safety, and financial analysis in order to address problems associated with the current, failed policy.
