Cannabis Clemency Progress, and the Work Still Ahead
In today’s Trade To Black podcast presented by Flowhub, Shadd Dales sits down with Jerry Haymon IV, whose federal marijuana sentence was commuted by President Trump on September 3. Weldon Angelos, founder of The Weldon Project and Mission Green, then joins to discuss the advocacy behind cases like Jerry’s and what rescheduling could mean for clemency. We also open with Trulieve’s inclusion in major S&P indices.
In the headlines, Trulieve announced it has been added to the S&P Total Market Index and the S&P Completion Index, along with the related healthcare sub-indices. CEO Kim Rivers said index inclusion raises visibility, improves liquidity and attracts institutional investors. She named a New York Stock Exchange listing and U.S. domestication as the company’s next milestones. Inclusion means mandated buying by index funds, and we explain why passive funds, not retail traders, increasingly drive volume in the sector.
In segment one, Haymon returns to the show after serving the 10-year mandatory minimum for a marijuana distribution conspiracy between 2013 and 2017. Under halfway-house supervision he wore an ankle monitor, faced an 8 p.m. curfew and a 100-mile radius, and was denied job after job. That included cannabis industry work and even a role he could have done from home. He learned of his release from pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson, whose call he first mistook for a bill collector. His case drew support from 36 members of Congress and a personal letter from Mike Tyson, who credited attorney Erik Luna and Mission Green when publicly thanking Trump. Kevin Harden, serving 30 years for a similar conspiracy, received clemency the same day. Haymon has since landed a job at Glass House and plans to build an industry coalition to help those still incarcerated.
In segment two, Angelos explains how Mission Green brings cases like Haymon’s to the White House through congressional letters, clemency petitions and relentless advocacy alongside Tyson. That advocacy included flying from Utah to Washington every other weekend. With three marijuana clemencies granted so far, he says much work remains. Once rescheduling is final, he wants a categorical clemency grant for anyone meeting set criteria. Failing that, he hopes for hundreds of individual grants and a retroactive U.S. Sentencing Commission amendment. He’s confident rescheduling will happen and expects DEA Administrator Terry Cole to move quickly, though he doubts descheduling will come under this administration. Hear his full take on what’s still at stake.
