09: What Can Cannabis Reform Teach us About Criminal Justice Reform with Christian Sederberg

Marijuana legalization is a hotly debated subject, so it’s no wonder there’s so much misinformation surrounding it.   

Today’s guest, Christian Sederberg, is here to teach you the truth.

 

Christian is a founding partner at Vincente Sederberg LLP, a national law firm that tackles drug reform.

 

This week, he will walk you through the complicated subject of marijuana legalization, from lobbying efforts to local advocacy.

 

He’ll teach you the misconceptions around the marijuana industry and by the time you’re done listening, you’ll be able to form your own informed opinion. 

 

Key Topics and Takeaways:

 

• What Christian’s law firm does [4:28]
• The policy side of Marijuana legalization [6:19]
• Christian’s work in the mental health arena [20:45]
• Health equity in the marijuana industry [29:16]
• Where we should allocate tax dollars [33:16]
• Marijuana crimes in legal states [41:36]
• Why it’s hard to start a small business in the marijuana industry [47:11]
• Christian’s long-term goals for marijuana policy [52:45]

 

Guest:

 

Christian Sederberg, Founding Partner at Vicente Sederberg LLP

 

Resources:

 

Vicente Sederberg Law Firm Bio

Marijuana Policy Project

Multipledisplenary Association for Psychedelic Studies

Headcount Voter Registration

To reach out to Christian: [email protected]

 

Memorable Quotes:

 

“When you move to actually treating addiction, you have lower rates of recidivism, your jails have less issues, and you have more resources that could be allocated to what people would consider more serious (quote-unquote) crimes.” (16:34, Hunter)

 

“Their argument was if we create a tax system that relies upon mental health, would rely upon these tax dollars to have these programs, then we'll never be able to get to our ultimate goal of banning these products.” (23:28, Christian)

 

“This country is shifting its frame that there can be responsible marijuana users. They’re not all potheads.” (34:06, Christian)

 

“We think we know what people need instead of engaging with them and asking, and actually having them tell us what they need.” (40:02, Christian)

 

“We're talking about the fundamental problem with American law enforcement, in my opinion, which is that we still have a lot of work to do on how we treat the poorest communities.” (42:46, Christian)

 

“We need to fundamentally shift our mindset, to look at all of these issues as public health issues and individual health issues, not as criminal justice issues.” (53:17, Christian)