U.S. Marijuana Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairwoman | Sheree Krider (Kentucky) |
| Founded | 2002 (2002) |
| Ideology | Cannabis legalisation Civil libertarianism |
| National affiliation | Legal Marijuana Now |
| Colors | Red, white, blue, green |
| Website | |
| usmjparty | |
TheU.S. Marijuana Party is acannabis political party in theUnited States founded in 2002 byLoretta Nall specifically to end thewar on drugs and to legalizecannabis.[1] Their policies also include other sociallylibertarian positions. U.S. Marijuana Party candidates inVermont have run campaigns as recently as 2016. The party has had local chapters in several other states, and has been affiliated with international cannabis political parties.
On September 18, 2012, the U.S. Marijuana Party endorsedLibertarian Party candidateGary Johnson in the2012 presidential election.[2]
InColorado, Jason Lauve ran the U.S. Marijuana Party from February 2003 through March 2005.
Wayward Bill Chengelis took over the Colorado party chapter from Lauve in 2005 and was U.S. Marijuana Party chairman for many years, until Chengelis' death in 2021.[3][4]
In 2004, Illinois Marijuana Party leader Richard Rawlings ran for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 18th Congressional District as awrite-in candidate. Brian Meyer ran as a write-in candidate in the 12th Congressional District in 2004. Rawlings ran again as a Marijuana Party write-in candidate for Congress in 2010.[1][5]
The U.S. Marijuana Party was started in 2002 by Loretta Nall fromMassachusetts following hermisdemeanor arrest for marijuanapossession.[6][7][8] Nall was the chairwomen of the party until she resigned in 2004 to pursue theLibertarian Party of Alabama's nomination forgovernor.[9]
In 2015–2016, Zach Boiko,Mark Elworth Jr., andKrystal Gabel collected signatures for Marijuana Party of Nebraska to be officially recognized. In order to make the ballot, petitioners needed 5,397 signatures statewide. The party also must have a certain number of signatures from each of the state's three congressional districts.[10][11]
In July, 2016, volunteers turned in 9,000 signatures to theNebraska Secretary of State. However, the Secretary of State said that half of the signatures were invalid, falling short of the 5,397 needed. In 2016, the group changed its name toNebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party, and organizers began petitioning for 2018 ballot access.[12][13]
Rastafari cannabis rights activist and businessmanEdward Forchion, who founded theLegalize Marijuana Party in 1998 in New Jersey, ran forU.S. Representative forNew Jersey's 3rd congressional district in 2004 as a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate. Forchion got 4,914 votes.[14][15]
| Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | US Representative 3 | Edward Forchion | 4,914 | 1.6%[15] |
Independent candidateCris Ericson ran forGovernor of Vermont in 2002 as a Make Marijuana Legal candidate. In 2004, Ericson ran for Vermont governor andU.S. senator as a Marijuana Party candidate. She went on to compete in 2006, 2008, 2014 and 2016 inRepublican Party andDemocratic Party primaries, and for multiple state and federal offices as anIndependent candidate. Ericson, a U.S. Marijuana Party candidate for United States Senator and Governor of Vermont in 2010, 2012, and 2016, ran a marijuana party write-in campaign for U.S. Senate in 2024.[16][17][18]
| Year | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Cris Ericson | 4,221 | 1.4%[19] |
| 2010 | Cris Ericson | 1,819 | 0.8%[20] |
| 2012 | Cris Ericson | 5,580 | 1.9%[21] |
| Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | VT Senator (Caledonia County) | Galen Dively, III | 2,443 | 9.5%[22] |
| Year | Office | Candidate | Popular Votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 6,486 | 2.1%[19] |
| 2010 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 2,731 | 1.2%[20] |
| 2012 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 5,919 | 2.0%[21] |
| 2016 | US Senator | Cris Ericson | 9,156 | 2.9%[22] |
In the Washington State House of Representatives District 2b election, in 2014, retired union official Rick Payne was on the August primary ballot as a Marijuana Party candidate. In Washington the top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the general election. Payne received 1,644 votes (9.3%). Defeated by the incumbent, a Republican, and a Libertarian candidate, Payne did not make it into the November general election.[23]
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