The US Cannabis Council (USCC) is asking cannabis consumers to ‘directly support legalization at the checkout counter’ by donating to their lobbying efforts.
This week, the advocacy group, which says it wants to make the federal legalization of cannabis a core election issue, launched a new fundraising campaign with its member Curaleaf Holdings.
Now, 140 Curaleaf dispensaries across Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland, and Arizona will be accepting small donations from customers, asking them to round up to the nearest dollar when making a purchase.
According to the USCC, this is set to be expanded to more Marimed and Standard Wellness dispensaries in spring, while more major retailers are expected to join the donation drive in the coming months.
USCC senior vice president David Culver said: “Customers at regulated stores feel strongly that cannabis should be federally legal. Now they have the opportunity to directly support legalization at the checkout counter.”
Curaleaf’s CEO Matt Darin added: “The USCC campaign gives Curaleaf customers the opportunity to directly impact the movement to legalize cannabis across the nation—a long overdue change that the majority of Americans support.
“We are proud to have launched the inaugural effort across our retail stores and engaged our team members, patients, and customers in making cannabis a prominent issue in 2024.”
Curaleaf’s drive will run until the end of February, having run for the full month, when it will temporarily suspend the scheme as other retailers take over. It is understood that it plans to start accepting donations again later this year.
The USCC is able to spend half of its revenue on electioneering to support pro-reform candidates, but it is also expected to put some of the proceeds into its SuperPAC, ‘Legalize America’, which it launched last year.
