Congress returns from recess on September 14 amid a pretty major election season, and now is the time to push Congress to send legislation that deschedules cannabis to President Trump’s desk. We should also be pushing candidates on both sides of the aisle to commit to supporting the full and complete de-scheduling as we move from these critical midterms into the 2028 Presidential Election.
At Oaksterdam, advocacy to end Prohibition has always been at the heart of what we do, and we have always encouraged our students to get involved in the political process. We are giving away our Economics of the Cannabis Industry Course from September 6–20, 2026, so you can take it and also offer it to your representatives and local candidates, too. Follow the instructions and use the template letter below to contact your representatives and the candidates asking for your vote to tell them how you feel about federal cannabis reform and offer them access to this free course.
Instructions
- Find out who represents you in Congress: Enter your address into Congress.gov’s Find My Representatives Tool to get contact information for your two Senators and one member of the House of Representatives.
- Find who is running for office: Campaign websites usually have a “contact” or “issues” page. Email is typically the fastest.
- Send them a message: Call or email them to let them know that federal cannabis policy is unsustainable and you want to see reform. Then, encourage all your friends and social networks to do the same. Offer them this free enrollment in Oaksterdam’s Economics of the Cannabis Industry, so they understand the impact regulations have on local and sustainable business development and growth. We created a template letter below to help you out, but pay attention to the bolded brackets and personalize the message before sending. Personalized letters carry far more weight with congressional offices than form letters, so take a few minutes with the highlighted spots — especially the local impact paragraph. Copy-paste-edit-send-share with friends and family!
Template
Dear [Elected official or candidate’s name],
My name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent from [YOUR CITY/DISTRICT] [PERSONALIZE: add a line on who you are, such as a small business owner, a technical assistance provider, a patient, a parent, a voter]. I am writing to urge you to support the complete descheduling of cannabis at the federal level — not rescheduling, but full removal from the Controlled Substances Act.
This is a pivotal moment for cannabis policy reform, and it is vital that our elected officials are fully informed on what’s at stake. Current federal policy continues to fuel illicit markets rather than eliminate them. It continues to keep non-violent Americans behind bars for participating in an industry that is now making others enormously wealthy. It still limits access to the patients with the greatest medical need and the least financial resources to navigate a fractured, state-by-state system. And it still breaks up families through incarceration, lost custody, denied housing, and blocked employment.
Meaningful reform — full descheduling — can right this ship. It would open the door to serious federal research into cannabis’s medical and public health effects, allow small and local cannabis businesses to access banking and normal tax treatment, support economic development in the communities most harmed by prohibition, and begin to reunite families torn apart by outdated law. The moment for this change is now, and your leadership matters.
[PERSONALIZE: 1–2 sentences on why this matters specifically to your district/community]
A free educational resource for your office: Because informed policymaking depends on good information, I’d also like to offer you and your staff complimentary access to Oaksterdam University’s Economics of Cannabis course. This course covers the economic realities of the cannabis industry: market structure, taxation, banking barriers, and the impact of federal policy on local economies. I believe it would be a valuable resource as you and your team consider this issue.
Please use code ECON26 to enroll at no cost between September 6 and 20. You can enroll here: https://oaksterdam.com/product/economics-cannabis-industry/
Thank you for your time and consideration. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further, and I hope I can count on your support for cannabis descheduling.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER, OPTIONAL]
[YOUR EMAIL]