What is Cannabis @ the Capitol?
Cannabis @ the Capitol is the Florida Cannabis Action Networks’ annual Citizens’ Lobby Day and Capitol Education Expo.
Anyone interested in the impact of local and state government on Cannabis Policy, Cannabis use, or Cannabis commerce will benefit from attending this event. Registered participants tour the Capitol Complex, meet special guests, attend meetings with lawmakers, and may have an opportunity to speak during a committee hearing.
Lawmakers want to talk to constituents about Cannabis! After decades of work conquering misinformation, we’ve seen tremendous changes in attitude among lawmakers! We know presenting ourselves professionally at the Capitol helps break the stigma associated with pot and potheads.
What was new in 2024?
FLCAN’s Changes in Attitudes Give Us Some Latitude paid tribute to the late Jimmy Buffet. While Buffet normalized Cannabis to generations of listeners, he died before Cannabis reached parity with other plants, other plant medicines, and other intoxicants. We hope Buffet fans will appreciate our desire for parity as expressed in this parody. Complete with parrots in paradise, the 3rd-floor rotunda became alive with the wonders of the Cannabis plants. Check out the photos on Facebook. We stepped it up with a theme song. Check it out.
Our 2023 theme took flight with “Oh See See How We’ll Grow” complete with balloons and a carousel of progress made of bannerstands. From the history of medicine in the US to the history of medical marijuana in Florida, we took visitors to the Capitol through a visual journey of humans’ relationship with the Cannabis/Hemp plants.
In 2022, we brought live Cannabis plants into the Capitol for the first time in modern history. The theme, “See How We Grow – Touch It, Taste It, Smell It”, included amazing exhibitors who highlighted what we can do in the Cannabis industry today in Florida. We were able to share with lawmakers the challenges of the blossoming industry and the obstacles we face as we try to grow.
We renamed CAN 101 in 2022 post-COVID. Coined Cannabis @ the Capitol, FLCAN organized 3-days of activity including an opening reception, a full lobby day with exhibits on the Rotunda, and a second day at the Capitol for business members to discuss their business needs.
Together we make history every year!
Changing Cannabis laws doesn’t happen by accident. FLCAN’s own Mike Krehl worked diligently with Representative Michelle RehWinkle-Vaselinda to introduce the first modern hemp bill in 2015 after the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill allowing Hemp Research federally.
To capture the attention of the lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists, and important visitors to the Capitol you have to go BIG! We needed to tell the story of the value of hemp to our planet.
On February 19, 2015, with the help of Robert Clayton, builder of the first Florida Hemp House, we transformed the second floor of the Capitol Rotunda into a 60-foot display featuring hemp used in construction, cosmetics, plastics, food products, and fiber to support that bill.
The following session in 2016 lawmakers passed the Hemp Research Bill which paved the way for our current program.
In 2017, we coined the term Cannabis 101 at the Capitol. Recognizing how important it is for lawmakers to hear directly from patients, caregivers, leisure users, and small business owners, the Florida Cannabis Action Network expanded its legislative education program to train people from all over the state to advocate. Every patient is an expert, every business owner, caregiver, and responsible voting leisure user, are all experts on their decision to use Cannabis. Lawmakers needed to hear from the diverse Cannabis Community and the Cannabis Community needed to know how to talk to lawmakers.
CAN 101 was in the spring and CAN 201 was in the fall. Every two years a new group of lawmakers was elected, each knowing just a little more about Cannabis than the group before them.
Hundreds of people have participated in a lobbying opportunity organized by the Florida Cannabis Action Network since Cannabis 101 began in 2017. Every Cannabis @ the Capitol is unique. Each one is memorable. Each one is valuable to the way we treat the people who use Cannabis and the way we regulate this plant in Florida.
Reach out to FLCAN if you are interested in honoring our work with a sponsorship or partnering agreement. director (@ sign) flcan.org Click here to find the sponsor payment portal
Up Next Future of Marijuana Conference
