4/20 is a great day to celebrate all the hard work cannabis activists have put in over the last year. Everyone should take the time to blaze and enjoy the cannabis freedom we’ve created. Last year was one for the ages, with four states voting to legalize adult use and four more to allow medical cannabis. Local efforts to end prohibition have spread from New Orleans to Nashville to Pittsburgh.

Well done, everyone! Dabs all around!

Then, get back to work. The backlash against cannabis legalization has started. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has expressed a desire to go after the industry with a vengeance. We need to stop him. Here are three things you can do:

  Pressure Your legislators

Politicians love money and jobs. Marijuana is a billion-dollar per year business in Oregon, Colorado and Washington State. And that’s just in sales. The money and jobs created by the industry can’t be easily replaced. Call or email your Congresspeople and tell them to join the Cannabis Caucus and support the several bills introduced that would reform the federal cannabis laws. Let your representatives know that working for pot legalization will help them get re-elected.

  Keep Throwing 4/20 Events

Back in the day, marijuana events were almost always an act of civil disobedience. Sure, they may have seemed like parties, but they were parties with a purpose. Thousands of people peacefully smoking weed in a park is a gigantic act of defiance. Throw a smoke-in or a smoke-out. Go to a Hempfest or a Hash Bash. The Seattle Hempfest started as a small “protestival” with maybe 100 people. Today, it’s a gigantic three-day affair. It’s not an understatement to say Seattle Hempfest played a huge role in creating legal cannabis in Washington. Produce your own festival. If city officials try to give you a hard time about permits, remind them that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of assembly. Get up and stand up for your rights.

  Donate Money and Time to Organizations

Movements need money. If you can spare a few bucks for the various organizations working toward cannabis freedom (ASA, NORML, DPA, MPP and SSDP are all good choices), that would be terrific. Volunteer to work the phones, gather signatures or attend a lobbying day. If we can manage to keep the momentum going and weather this backlash, I predict cannabis will be legal across the U.S. by 2020.

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