Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party

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Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party
ChairpersonTim Davis
Founded1998; 23 years ago (1998)
HeadquartersMinneapolis
IdeologyMarijuana legalization
Colors  Green, Gold, Red
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411
Website
www.legalcannabisnow.org
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Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now is a political third party in the U.S. state of Minnesota established in 1998 to oppose drug prohibition.[1] The party shares many of the progressive values of the Farmer—Labor Party but with an emphasis on marijuana/hemp legalization issues.[2]

The Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota is an offshoot of the Grassroots Party,[3] and the organization traces their roots to the Youth International Party of the 1960s. Legal Marijuana Now is also active in other U.S. states, Iowa, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.

A primary goal of the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party, aside from getting pro-cannabis candidates into office, is to increase voter turnout in elections.[4] Legal Marijuana Now is a social-democratic party that is anti-war, pro-labor and supports the rights of all minority groups.[5][6] The Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party promotes wise environmental stewardship, and denounces corporate personhood.

Platform[]

United States Bill of Rights[]

The permanent platform of the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now party is the Bill of Rights.[7] All Legal Marijuana Now candidates would end marijuana/hemp prohibition, thus re-legalizing cannabis for all its uses.

Minnesota State Constitution[]

According to the Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota, the right to grow a garden is protected by the Minnesota Constitution.[8]

Mascot[]

Marvelous Cannabis Leaf by Andy Schuler

Cannabis leaf[]

The official mascot of the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now party is the cannabis leaf.

Marvelous Cannabis Leaf is a personification of the mascot that was first drawn as part of the cartoon “Marijuana Legalization in Minnesota is Not Inevitable” on April 20, 2015, by artist and standup comedian Andy Schuler.

[]

The party logo consists of a raised fist, superimposed with the cannabis leaf mascot and the name of the party, Legal Marijuana Now.

Colors[]

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party official colors are the Rastafari colors, green, gold, and red, and sometimes black. The colors are from the flag of Ethiopia and are also the colors of the Youth International Party flag.

Alternate colors for the Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota are a rainbow flag, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, representing inclusiveness.

And alternate national Legal Marijuana Now Party colors are red, white, and blue, representing the flag of the United States.

[]

The official banner is the name of the party in white lettering, on an emerald green background. The letter 'O' in the word 'Now' on the banner is interwoven with a cannabis leaf.

Party song[]

Go Duba Gong (The Dooby Song) by The Syndicated Mickey Moore Variety Show has become the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party anthem. The Legal Marijuana Now Party has been authorized to use “The Dooby Song” for party activities and for broadcast in media as a sound logo. Multiple pro-legalization candidates have used “The Dooby Song” in their campaigns for elected office.[9]

Name[]

The name of the party is from the Yippie chant, “What do we want?” “Legal marijuana.” “When do we want it?” “Now!”[3]

The name Legal Marijuana Now was chosen so that the message is clear and every vote would be counted as an unmistakable vote to legalize marijuana.[10]

Ideology[]

Herb is the healing of a nation. Alcohol is the destruction.

—Bob Marley (1945-1981)

The Legal Marijuana Now Party pledge[]

  • Legalize homegrown cannabis[8]
  • Erase past marijuana convictions[8]
  • Ban employment drug testing[8]
  • Abolish the Drug Enforcement Administration[2]

Philosophy[]

The Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party philosophy is from the Bible.[11] The Book of Revelation (22:2) states, “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

In a speech to the Saint Paul branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in October 2014, Legal Marijuana Now candidate for Attorney General of Minnesota, Dan Vacek, said, “Like alcohol prohibition, drug prohibition must be repealed and replaced by regulation, education, and moderation. When we take that step, we take the first step toward healing our nation.”[11]

Structure and composition[]

Movement[]

Grassroots organizations are associated with bottom-up rather than top-down decision making. The Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota seeks to engage ordinary people in political discourse to the greatest extent possible.[4][12]

Leadership[]

All decisions on important organizational and financial subjects must be reached by a leadership Head Council, which consists of Legal Marijuana Now Party members with at least three consecutive years participation in the party and officers elected by the members at an annual convention held in June.[7]

History[]

Early history[]

The Youth International Party, formed in 1967 to advance the counterculture of the 1960s, often ran candidates for public office. The Yippie flag is a five-pointed star superimposed with a cannabis leaf.

The Grassroots Party was founded in Minnesota in 1986 and ran numerous candidates for state and federal offices. The party was active in Iowa, Minnesota, and Vermont.

In 1996 the Minnesota Grassroots Party split, forming the Independent Grassroots Party for one election cycle. John Birrenbach was the Independent Grassroots Presidential candidate and George McMahon was the Vice-presidential candidate.[13] Dan Vacek was the Independent Grassroots candidate for United States Representative, District 4, in 1996.

In 1998, members of the Independent Grassroots Party formed the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now political party.[1]

1998 election results[]

Year Office Candidate Popular votes Percentage
1998 United States Representative, District 4 Dan Vacek 5,839[14] 2.40%

2014—2018[]

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party marching in the 2016 Rice Street Parade

Minnesota does not allow voters to petition to put the law itself onto the ballot for a vote. The only petition the people can use in Minnesota is to nominate independent and third party candidates for office.[15]

In 2014, Dan Vacek ran for Minnesota Attorney General as the Legal Marijuana Now candidate and got 57,604 votes, qualifying the party to be officially recognized and to receive public funding from the state.[16][17][18]

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now held their first convention and adopted a party constitution on November 26, 2014. Founding members Oliver Steinberg, Marty Super, and Dan Vacek comprised the organization's 2015 leadership council.

In 2016, Michael Ford was elected chairperson of the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party. From 2018—2019, Marty Super served as chairperson.[19] Tim Davis became chairperson of Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now in 2020.

The Legal Marijuana Now Party placed a candidate, Zach Phelps, on the ballot in the Minnesota State Senate District 35 Special Election, in February 2016.[1][3]

Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now nominated candidates by petition to appear on the ballot for the November 6, 2018 election.[20] Their candidate for State Auditor, Michael Ford, who is African-American, received 133,913 votes or 5.28%, qualifying Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party to be an official major party in the state, which gives Legal Marijuana Now candidates ballot access without the task of having to petition.[21]

2014—2018 election results[]

Year Office Candidate Popular votes Percentage
2014 Minnesota Attorney General Dan Vacek 57,604[22] 2.99%
2016 Minnesota State Senator, District 35 Zachary Phelps[3] 180[23] 4.10%
2016 United States Representative, District 4 Susan Pendergast Sindt 27,152[24] 7.71%
2016 United States Representative, District 5 Dennis Schuller 30,759[24] 8.50%
2016 Minnesota State Senator, District 60 Martin Super 8,861[24] 21.78%
2018 United States Senator Dennis Schuller 66,236[25] 2.55%
2018 United States Senator Sarah Wellington 95,614[25] 3.70%
2018 United States Representative, District 4 Susan Pendergast Sindt 13,776[26] 4.19%
2018 Minnesota State Auditor Michael Ford 133,913[27] 5.28%

2019—2020[]

The Legal Marijuana Now Party placed a candidate, John “Sparky” Birrenbach, of Pine City on the ballot in the Minnesota State Senate District 11 Special Election, in February 2019.[28]

In 2020, Legal Marijuana Now candidate Adam Weeks who was on the ballot in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district where Democratic Representative Angie Craig was seeking re-election in a close race, died four weeks before the November 3 election, throwing the election into chaos because a Minnesota state law said that if a major party candidate died during an election campaign, a special election would be held. Federal judges ruled that the election should go ahead, despite state law,[29][30] so the name of the candidate, Paula Overby, who was nominated by Legal Marijuana Now Party to replace Weeks, was not on the ballot.[31] State Legal Marijuana Now Party leaders encouraged their supporters to cast their votes for Weeks, in memoriam, and the dead candidate received 5.83% of votes in the three-way race.[32]

During the 2020 election campaign, Minnesota Democratic Party leaders said that the Legal Marijuana Now Party made it harder for DFL candidates to win.[30] But a St. Cloud Times analysis of votes cast in the November 3, 2020, election found that the marijuana candidates took at least as many votes, if not more, from Republican candidates than they took from Democratic candidates.[33]

Kevin O’Connor, the Legal Marijuana Now nominee for United States Senator in 2020, received 190,154 votes in the November 3 election, the largest number of votes received by any such third-party candidate nationwide.[34][35]

Results in Minnesota state elections[]

Year Office Candidate Popular votes Percentage
2019 Minnesota State Senator, District 11 John Birrenbach 298[36] 1.91%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 60A Marty Super 247[37] 11.49%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 5 Robyn Smith 2,400[38] 5.30%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 14 Jaden Partlow 3,127[39] 7.92%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 16 Steve “Stoney” Preslicka 4,880[40] 12.10%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 23 David Pulkrabek 8,730[41] 21.11%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 27 Tyler Becvar 2,699[42] 6.68%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 45 Andy Schuler 4,729[43] 9.88%
2020 Minnesota State Senator, District 64 Patricia Jirovec McArdell 3,281[44] 6.42%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 17A Ed Engelmann 1,007[45] 4.88%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 40B Mary O’Connor 2,147[46] 11.86%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 55A Ryan Martin 1,706[47] 7.40%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 63A David Wiester 1,881[48] 7.14%
2020 Minnesota State Representative, District 63B Dennis Schuller 2,039[49] 7.84%

Results in 2020 federal elections[]

Year Office Candidate Popular votes Percentage
2020 United States Senator Kevin O’Connor 190,154[34] 5.92%
2020 United States Representative, District 2 Adam Charles Weeks 24,751[32] 5.83%
2020 United States Representative, District 5 Michael Moore 29,537[50] 9.54%
2020 United States Representative, District 7 Slater Johnson 37,979[51] 4.87%

After 2020[]

Expansion outside Minnesota[]

On April 21, 2021, Legal Marijuana NOW gained official recognition as a state political party in Nebraska by petitioning, earning the party ballot access for their candidates, and allowing Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party to register voters.[52]

2021 municipal elections[]

Legal Marijuana Now congressional candidate Mickey Moore entered the 2021 Ward 9 Minneapolis City Council race. In the nonpartisan municipal election, Moore was endorsed by the Minneapolis Area DFL Senior Caucus, Operation Safety Now, Minneapolis’ firefighters union. Other candidates in the race had endorsements including the Minneapolis Democratic Party, Twin Cities Democratic Socialists, Somali Business Association.[53]

Further reading[]

See also[]

  • Cannabis political parties of the United States

References[]

  1. ^ a b Bloch, Emily (October 2, 2019). "Alternatives to the Two Major Political Parties, Explained". Teen Vogue.
  2. ^ a b c d Gettman, Jon (February 9, 2016). "Pot Matters: Minnesota Maverick Pushes Legalization Platform in Special Election". High Times.
  3. ^ a b Stoddard, Martha (July 23, 2016). "Marijuana party seeks spot on ballot for presidential race". Omaha World-Herald.
  4. ^ Gemma, Peter B. (October 19, 2016). "Interview with Dan Vacek, Legal Marijuana Now Presidential Nominee". Independent Political Report.
  5. ^ Summers, Brandon (June 19, 2020). "Elworth leaving Democrats for Legal Marijuana Now Party". The Grand Island Independent. Elworth served before as 2016 vice presidential candidate for the LMN Party and achieved 10th place in the general election. “I wanted to help the Democrats out this time, but they were unable to give me any support at all,” he said. “I was all gung ho to win this race for them.” Elworth touted his record as a marijuana activist and third party candidate. He has also run as a Libertarian candidate and has supported the Green Party. “I consider myself pretty moderate on a lot of issues,” he said. “I’m a little conservative on money issues. I’m more liberal on social issues. I’m a constitutionalist. I believe in people’s rights and equal rights for everybody.” He added, “I’m not a true Democrat, but I’m not a Republican either.”
  6. ^ a b c d "Weg met Trump en Clinton, stem Legal Marijuana Now!". Rolling Stoned. October 19, 2016.
  7. ^ First used in the Schuller for US senate campaign 2018 the first aired public broadcast was associated with the party and broadcast in full on October 26, 2018 by Edward De La Hunt on northern Minnesota's radio station powerhouse KPRM 870AM & 97.5FM, KAAK 1570AM
  8. ^ Harvieux, Vincent (May 3, 2018). "Joint Ops: Why Minnesota has two pro-marijuana parties". Perfect Duluth Day.
  9. ^ a b "Attorney General candidate Dan Vacek's October 30th address to the Saint Paul NAACP". facebook.com/LMN.USA. October 31, 2014.
  10. ^ Puniewska, Magdalena (June 4, 2018). "Inside the Strict, Unspoken Dress Code for Women Political Candidates: Women running for office are pushing boundaries, but their clothes can't". Racked.com.
  11. ^ Bickford, Bob (October 7, 1998). "1996 Presidential Election Results by State". Ballot Access News.
  12. ^ Minnesota Secretary of State (November 1998). "Minnesota Election Results 1998, p. 43" (PDF). Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
  13. ^ Condon, Patrick (June 21, 2014). "Pot activists light up Minnesota ballot". Star Tribune.
  14. ^ "Minnesota's major & minor political parties: Secretary of State". Minnesota Secretary of State.
  15. ^ "Independence Party demoted to minor-party status". mprnews.org. Associated Press. December 31, 2014.
  16. ^ Du, Susan (July 19, 2017). "Reefer Riches: What Minnesota could learn about recreational marijuana". City Pages.
  17. ^ Pugmire, Tim (September 25, 2019). "New political parties try to organize around support for legal marijuana". Minnesota Public Radio.
  18. ^ Jones, Hannah (August 30, 2018). "The Minnesota State Fair's weed activists are kindly waiting for you to realize they're right". City Pages.
  19. ^ Octavio, Miguel; Tarala, Kassidy (January 15, 2019). "Midterms boost influence of pro-cannabis political parties". University of Minnesota.
  20. ^ "2014 Election Results Minnesota Attorney General". Minnesota Secretary of State. November 2014.
  21. ^ "2016 Results Minnesota Special Election, District 35". Minnesota Secretary of State. February 2016.
  22. ^ a b c "Minnesota State Canvassing Report: 2016 General Election" (PDF). Minnesota Secretary of State. November 29, 2016.
  23. ^ a b "2018 Election Results United States Senator". Minnesota Secretary of State. November 2018.
  24. ^ "2018 Election Results United States Representative District 4". Minnesota Secretary of State. November 2018.
  25. ^ "2018 Election Results Minnesota State Auditor". Minnesota Secretary of State. November 2018.
  26. ^ Van Oot, Torey (January 8, 2019). "Field set for Minnesota's special Senate election to fill Tony Lourey's seat". Star Tribune.
  27. ^ "Marijuana Party Candidate's Death Is No Reason to Pause Election". Bloomberg Law. October 23, 2020.
  28. ^ a b Van Berkel, Jessie; Bierschbach, Briana (November 5, 2020). "Marijuana candidates shake up Minnesota races". Star Tribune.
  29. ^ Associated Press (October 6, 2020). "Legal Marijuana Now Party Names New 2nd District Candidate Following Death Of Adam Weeks". CBS Minnesota.
  30. ^ a b "2020 Results for US Representative District 2". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  31. ^ Hertel, Nora G. (November 14, 2020). "Republican voters choose legal marijuana party candidates in tight legislative races". St. Cloud Times.
  32. ^ a b "2020 Results for US Senator".
  33. ^ Beaudoin, Dave G. (January 29, 2021). "77 third-party candidates received more votes than the winner's margin of victory in 2020". Ballotpedia.
  34. ^ "2019 Results Minnesota Minnesota Special Election, District 11". Minnesota Secretary of State. February 2019.
  35. ^ "Index - ElectionResults.Web". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  36. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 5". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  37. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 14". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  38. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 16". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  39. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 23". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  40. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 27". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  41. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 45". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  42. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 64". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  43. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 17A". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  44. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 40B". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  45. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 55A". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  46. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 63A". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  47. ^ "2020 Results for Minnesota State Senator District 63B". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  48. ^ "2020 Results for US Representative District 5". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  49. ^ "2020 Results for US Representative District 7". electionresults.sos.state.mn.us.
  50. ^ "'Legal Marijuana NOW' now recognized as a party in Nebraska". Associated Press. April 21, 2021.
  51. ^ Duggan, JD (June 24, 2021). "We asked the Minneapolis City Council candidates for Ward 9 what they would do about police reform, rebuilding East Lake Street, homelessness, and rent control: Jason Chavez, Mickey Moore, and Haji Yussuf spoke to Sahan Journal about their policy ideas, their personal experiences—and why they deserve your vote". Sahan Journal. Mickey Moore ... has emerged as the chosen candidate for Operation Safety Now ... the Minneapolis Area DFL Seniors Caucus ... Minneapolis’ firefighters union; and others. Moore was also a Congressional candidate from the Legal Marijuana Now party

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