Ep. 465: Steve Hawkins, MPP

Steve Hawkins, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), discusses his hopes and predictions for upcoming cannabis policy in the United States. In particular, Hawkins believes that states should have the right to legalize cannabis in their own way without federal intrusion, as much more is possible at the state level. As well, Hawkins sees the legal cannabis industry as a fantastic way to create a large number of middle-class jobs - it's already on its way toward generating a million jobs for the economy. Because the war on drugs resulted in millions of cannabis convictions, expungements need to occur in similarly large numbers: "You don't make a dent with 25 thousand expungements. You make a dent with 750 thousand expungements."