Cannabis advocates are raising money for a super PAC called Texans Removing Outdated and Unresponsive Politicians, aimed at ousting Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, who chairs the House Rules Committee and has blocked cannabis reform legislation from reaching the floor for a vote, the Washington Examiner reports. The effort is being led by Marijuana Policy Project founder and former executive director Rob Kampia.
“[Sessions] is in fact what I call a sphincter who is constipating the process. The reason we haven’t won is just process; it’s not content.” – Kampia to the Examiner
Kampia said the PAC will bundle contributions for the Democrat who wins the primary and provide support for Melina Baker, the Libertarian Party candidate.
“I am going to bundle a whole bunch of checks and send them to the Democrat without talking to the Democrat. You are going to see a bunch of $2,700 checks flowing from the same people who you’re going to see on our [super PAC] reports.” – Kampia to the Examiner
Kampia, who now leads the Marijuana Leadership Campaign, said the PAC will fund get-out-the-vote ads targeted at libertarian-leaning Republicans who support state rights, encouraging them to support a third-party candidate, and University of Texas at Dallas students.
Responding to the news, Sessions’ campaign said that “far more people across North Texas appreciate [his] efforts to protect our families by upholding the rule of law.”
“Congressman Sessions will not be intimidated by liberal merchants of addiction who imperil the safety of our children with illegal narcotics.” – Sessions’ campaign to the Examiner
Kampia said he’d bet all his money that medical cannabis could be legalized federally “but for Sessions.”
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