Journeys Home: The Families Behind the Fight for Cannabis Justice

When the lights dimmed at Sony Hall on 15 October, tears mixed with laughter as families long separated by cannabis convictions gathered to celebrate the most precious thing of all – being together again. The Last Prisoner Project’s Journey to Justice Gala wasn’t another fundraising event. It was living proof that behind every statistic about mass incarceration is a mum missing bedtime stories, a dad absent from birthday parties, children growing up with empty chairs at the dinner table.

Nearly half of people in state prisons are parents of minor children, with about 19% of these children aged four or younger, according to Prison Policy Initiative research. Cannabis-related incarcerations have torn through families for decades, disproportionately impacting Black and Indigenous communities who bore harsh sentencing whilst others built fortunes in the legal cannabis trade.

Real People, Real Impact

Mario Ramos knows what it feels like to watch time slip away behind bars. After serving 13 months for cannabis, he could have retreated into bitterness. Instead, he opened Conbud in New York City – the world’s first cannabis dispensary owned and operated by formerly incarcerated individuals. When Ramos stood to receive his award at the gala, his presence spoke louder than any speech about what’s possible when people get a second chance.

Deshaun Durham’s journey took a different path but arrived at the same destination – freedom to advocate for others. When Kansas Governor Laura Kelly granted him clemency at the end of 2024, Durham didn’t simply disappear into a quiet life. He joined the growing chorus of formerly incarcerated people using their voices to ensure others don’t face the same unnecessary separation from family.

Recent clemency efforts have reunited thousands with their families, from President Biden’s pardons for federal cannabis possession to state-level mass expungements. NORML reports that these pardons help reduce barriers to housing, employment and education, creating pathways for people to rebuild relationships with children who may have grown up whilst they were away.

What Freedom Looks Like

Behind every person celebrating at the gala were family members who carried multiple burdens during years of incarceration. Mothers who became single parents overnight. Children explaining empty seats at school events. Partners juggling jobs and prison visits whilst fighting to keep families financially afloat.

The toll extends beyond the obvious. Academic research shows that parental incarceration leads to housing instability, increased poverty and developmental challenges for children. Women particularly bear the emotional strain and social exclusion that comes with having an incarcerated partner or family member.

Freedom means more than walking through prison gates. It means fathers learning to be present for children who’ve grown up in their absence. It means mothers rebuilding trust and routine. It means grandparents finally meeting grandchildren born whilst they served time for something that might be perfectly legal in the next state over.

Beyond Celebrity Support

NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony and NFL Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson didn’t attend the gala for photo opportunities. Their presence represented something more meaningful – successful figures using their platforms to amplify voices that might otherwise go unheard. Eddie & Wendy Essefo, Guy Torry, Fab 5 Freddy and musician Joy Oladokun all brought their audiences into a conversation about justice that extends far beyond celebrity culture.

When DJ Keith Shocklee, founding member of Public Enemy, provided music for the evening, it connected the event to decades of hip-hop activism that has consistently highlighted criminal justice inequality. These artists understand their role isn’t to be saviours but amplifiers, using their reach to ensure the real experts – those who’ve lived through incarceration and family separation – have platforms to share their experiences.

Why the Fight Continues

‘As the cannabis industry continues to thrive, too many have been left behind serving time for acts that are no longer crimes,’ said Sarah Gersten, LPP’s Executive Director. ‘The Journey to Justice Gala is not a celebration of the over 300+ years of imprisonment we have saved our constituents from – it’s a call to action.’

The numbers remain stark. Over 40,000 people are incarcerated in the US for cannabis offences at any given time, with continued racial disparities despite legalisation efforts. Each person represents a web of family relationships stretched thin by unnecessary separation.

Mutulu ‘M-1’ Olugbala of dead prez, who serves on LPP’s board, put it simply: ‘The Last Prisoner Project is leading one of the most important justice movements of our time, changing lives, reuniting families and forcing this country to confront its contradictions. This gala is a moment to honour the people who have suffered under the War on Drugs and to lift up the stories that too often go unheard.’

Support in Action

Every pound raised at the gala goes directly to legal services, policy work and reentry programmes that provide concrete help to families navigating life after incarceration. These aren’t abstract initiatives but practical support for people like Mario Ramos and Deshaun Durham who need legal aid, job placement assistance and help rebuilding relationships with children.

The Last Prisoner Project offers multiple ways for supporters to get involved, from one-time donations to volunteering for letter-writing campaigns that maintain connections between incarcerated people and their families. Organisations like Freedom Grow coordinate commissary funds and holiday programmes that help maintain family bonds during incarceration.

Those ready to take action can advocate by contacting representatives about clemency and expungement or supporting reentry programmes that help formerly incarcerated people rebuild their lives and relationships. Like other community-driven fundraising efforts, this work depends on people who understand that real change happens when communities come together.

The evening ended not with speeches about future possibility but with the sound of actual reunion – people who’d found their way back to kitchen tables and school pickup lines, determined to ensure other families don’t wait as long for the same chance. In their voices, their presence and their continued activism lies the real force behind cannabis justice: love that refused to accept separation as permanent, and hope that transformed pain into purpose.