DFCR Membership Drive

As DFCR enters our seventh year, we are embarking on an ambitious effort to take a more proactive and assertive stance in support of cannabis regulation, aggressively challenge the objections to cannabis policy reform often heard from organized medicine, and position ourselves to take a more global and comprehensive stance against the failed War on Drugs. To accomplish this mission, we are announcing our first Membership Drive and Fundraising Challenge.

Cannabis Prohibition Is Still With Us

Although we like to think that nobody gets arrested for using cannabis anymore, cannabis prohibition is still with us. In 2019, there were 500,000 arrests for cannabis-related offenses in the U.S., mostly for the possession of small amounts. And, not unexpectedly, people of color are arrested far more frequently than white people.

More than 60% of the U.S. population live in a state where cannabis remains illegal without a medical card. Even in the states with legal medical cannabis, few doctors are knowledgeable enough to prescribe it, most hospital systems forbid its use, and medical insurance won’t cover it. 

Moreover, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug, meaning that the federal government insists that cannabis has no accepted medical use, an unknown safety profile, and a high likelihood for misuse – creating enormous barriers to medical research. 

Our fight will not be over until all 50 states and the federal government make cannabis legal. The trusted voice of physicians and other medical professionals remains vital to safely legalize cannabis and advance the fight against the War on Drugs.

Our Strategic Vision

We understand what’s at stake and we have far more ambitious plans for the future. We have consulted with the organizational strategists at Omanut Consulting, redefined our strategic and educational mission, and worked with HelloSci to redesign our website. 

As we set out to realize our mission to legalize cannabis and ensure smart regulation, we are committed to:

• Increasing our capacity to identify and advise on cannabis laws being proposed in jurisdictions throughout the U.S.;
• Increasing our global presence to support efforts to legalize medical and adult-use cannabis throughout the world;
• Building a broader coalition of informed supporters (including both medical professionals and non-professionals);
• Strengthening our advocacy efforts to have a direct impact on legislation; 
• Continuing to adapt our advocacy efforts to the shifting landscape to ensure that we are addressing issues related to the larger War on Drugs.

In order to realize these goals we need to ensure that DFCR has the resources necessary to grow our advocacy and educational efforts. 

We are primarily a volunteer-driven organization made up of dedicated physicians who donate their time, expertise, and funds to a mission that we believe is desperately needed to advance public health and social justice. But running a non-profit organization still costs money, and as we continue to grow our efforts to realize our strategic vision we are committed to raising the funds necessary by growing our Membership Program. 

We have set a modest goal of raising $15,000 through our Membership Drive by the end of this year. By joining DFCR as a Member you are not only declaring your support for our mission, but further enabling us to grow the advocacy and educational efforts necessary to realize our mission of legalization and science-based regulation. The DFCR Board has offered to match the first $5,000 contributed in our Membership Drive.

Thank you for your support of our work.