Missouri-based cannabis operator Illicit Gardens has partnered with Last Prisoner Project to launch the Freedoms Campaign, where the two organizations will fight for cannabis criminal justice reform at both the local and national legislative levels.
The Freedoms Campaign will provide financial support to individuals imprisoned under cannabis possession charges and will feature eight cannabis “prisoners of war” throughout the year-long campaign, in reference to the U.S.’ war on drugs. The campaign will share stories and perspectives from each of the eight
cannabis prisoners.
“We believe Missouri and the United States as a whole have reached an important tipping point in our collective consciousness around cannabis reform,” said Adam Diltz, CEO at Illicit Gardens. “The Freedoms Campaign drives forward our mission to free the more than 40,000 cannabis prisoners convicted of an activity that’s no longer a crime.”
Also launching alongside the Freedoms Campaign is Illicit’s new product line, West by Illicit. The product line was inspired by former cannabis prisoner Donte West, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for a cannabis offense in Kansas. West fought his sentence and was eventually dismissed of all charges in the case, thus securing his release.
Thirty percent of all West by Illicit sales proceeds will be donated to Missouri’s incarcerated cannabis prisoners on a rotating basis to assist with legal and reintegration fees, according to a press release.
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“I feel I have the opportunity that my other fellow cannabis prisoners do not. Illicit gave me the opportunity to foster a relationship with the Missouri community through my medical cannabis products, which is very powerful given the fact I was sitting in prison for it a year ago,” said Donte West, a former cannabis prisoner. “The Freedoms Campaign is monumental to the movement. We’re highlighting inspirational injustice stories in the hopes that the community will make a change. Voting your leaders into office is important, but you must inspire voters through stories to make that change.”
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