MPP is happy to announce that Troy Dayton will be joining our board of directors later this month! He will serve a three-year term, during which time he will help guide the overall direction of the organization. Troy will be replacing Richard Miller, Ph.D., who has served since 2010 and done an outstanding job.

Troy Dayton was one of MPP’s first volunteers when MPP was founded in 1995. Since then, he has raised over $1 million to support MPP’s work — which is the second-largest sum of money that anyone has raised for MPP.

He also co-founded Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Cannabis Industry Association. And Troy made national headlines when he organized religious leaders to endorse MPP’s ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Nevada.

Troy is currently the CEO of The ArcView Group, which was the focus of a recent cover story in “Fortune” magazine. He is quoted often in major media outlets on the topic of marijuana legalization.

The final results showed that Troy secured over 75% of the popular vote from MPP’s members, with Michael Kirshner (16.8%) and Jason Fien (7.1%) placing second and third in the voting.

Tuesday, November 6. Election Day. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be watching the news, reading about exit polls, and trying to figure out the results before the major networks make the call. But how are you going to keep track of all the marijuana-related issues on the ballot? That’s where we come in!

We’re going to be providing coverage of the various marijuana-related measures on the ballot on Facebook and Twitter, providing updates and results as they come in. So, if you haven’t already, please use the links below to ‘like’ our Facebook page and ‘follow’ us on Twitter. Please share these accounts with anyone you know who wants to be kept up to date on the latest results!

We’re just days away from making history! There’s still time to make a difference – please use this online phone bank tool from the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol to call Colorado voters and ask them to vote Yes on 64!

Also, if you’re looking for a simple summary of Colorado’s Amendment 64, as well as the latest polling data, be sure to check this out!

Are you a medical marijuana patient — or if it’s not yet legal in your state, would you be if the option were available? Medical Marijuana Business Daily, one of the leading business news sources for the medical marijuana industry, is asking for people to complete a quick (and anonymous) survey. The questions are focused on giving feedback to dispensary owners, to let them know what patients are looking for when they pick their provider.

It’ll just take a few minutes of your time, and no contact information is required, so please head on over and take their survey!

Also, for those readers who are involved in the industry on the business side, MPP’s Rob Kampia will be giving the keynote address at Medical Marijuana Business Daily’s National Medical Marijuana Conference on November 8 in Denver. Check out what the conference has to offer here. If you buy your ticket before October 31, you save $150!

Today, we’re really excited to be announcing the final list of the 2012 Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users! Over 3,000 of our supporters voted to help us develop the final list – which can be seen here – so thank you for your input!

The final list is a combination of MPP’s 13 automatic qualifiers (including President Obama and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, among 11 others) and the 37 individuals who received the most votes from our list of 150+ nominees. We borrowed the great definition used by Out Magazine for their “Power 50” list to rank these 50 individuals by their “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile.”

It was really interesting to see who made the final cut and who just missed out. Actors made up 40% of the final list with 20 people, and Morgan Freeman took the #1 spot in terms of total votes, appearing in over 33% of the survey responses. Politicians, with 11 finalists, and entertainers (with 7 finalists, including Jon Stewart, who comes in at #7 on our list), rounded out the second and third place categories.

There were a few people who I thought would make the final list who didn’t end up making the cut, including Lady Gaga (#52), Glenn Beck (#63), and Wiz Khalifa (#86). These are some pretty big names within their respective categories, but they ended up missing out. It was also interesting that only five musicians made the final list; I certainly was expecting a few more (including the two mentioned above)!

Since this will be an annual list, we’re looking forward to seeing how much changes over the next year. There are sure to be some significant names who drop off the list, as well as new additions who either just missed out this year or weren’t even eligible yet because we weren’t aware of their past (or current) marijuana use.

If you haven’t already, check out the final list, and leave a comment below with your thoughts! Who didn’t make the cut that should have? Who do you think is most likely to drop off over the next year? Was someone not even nominated who should have been? We want to hear from you, so be sure to let us know what you think! Again, thanks for voting!

He’s played God and the President of the United States. He’s starred in dozens of blockbusters, narrated countless other films and documentaries. And last week, in an interview with Newsweek (released the day before The Dark Knight Rises hit theaters), Morgan Freeman reiterated his support for ending marijuana prohibition.

The whole interview is available here, but the highlight of the interview is his no-nonsense approach to marijuana policy:

You’ve also been a big proponent of the legalization of marijuana.

Marijuana! Heavens, oh yeah. It’s just the stupidest law possible, given history. You don’t stop people from doing what they want to do, so forget about making it unlawful. You’re just making criminals out of people who aren’t engaged in criminal activity. And we’re spending zillions of dollars trying to fight a war we can’t win! We could make zillions, just legalize it and tax it like we do liquor. It’s stupid.

Next week, we’ll be opening voting for the Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users, and Morgan Freeman is already on the list of nominees. Do you think the “former president” will join Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton on the list?

Also, the great folks working on the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Colorado put out this great graphic on Facebook last week, which is spreading like wildfire. Be sure to check it out and share it with your friends and family!

It seems like every day there’s a new story out about someone famous using marijuana – but it doesn’t seem to stop these people from reaching the highest offices in the land. Whether we’re talking about the Oval Office or the box office, some of the most influential people in this country have used marijuana. This year, we at MPP want to see which individuals who have tried marijuana make the cut for the 2012 Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users List!

Rather than just produce a list, we really want to get your input on who should be considered for the 2012 Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users. So, we’re opening the nominations to all of our supporters – just leave a comment here on this blog post with someone you think should be on the list (and if you’ve got a source backing up their use, please include that as well). We’ll compile a list of all of those who made the cut.

Click here to see who has already been nominated for the 2012 Top 50 Marijuana Users List!

Then, in early August, we’re going to open up the voting! You’ll get to choose from over 100 individuals to let us know which people you think should make the Top 50 list.

In order to qualify for the 2012 Top 50 Most Influential Marijuana Users List, the person must:

(a)    have tried marijuana at least once;
(b)    be alive; and
(c)    must be living in the U.S. or be a U.S. citizen.

Now, this isn’t a popularity contest or a list of supportive users. We’re looking for people who are influential – and to determine this, we want to borrow the great definition that Out Magazine uses for their “Power 50” list. To determine who makes the final list, we want you to vote for those who have the “power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person’s media profile.”

We’re really excited about creating this list and seeing who makes the final cut, and we hope you are as well!