FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 23, 2023
Contact: Violet Cavendish
vcavendish@mpp.org
Washington, D.C. — The nation’s largest marijuana policy organization, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), announced Monday the election of four new members to serve on its board of directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome four outstanding new members to our board of directors. Their experience and proven track record of success in the cannabis space will boost MPP’s efforts and serve as an asset as we embark on another year of advocating for the end of cannabis prohibition. My heart is full knowing MPP has mission-based people backing our work, and we won’t stop fighting until both the people and the plant are free,” said Toi Hutchinson, President & CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project.
"We thank our outgoing board members who were all tireless activists for cannabis reform. I am so thrilled to have Tom, Barrington, Kim, and Betty join the MPP Board of Directors. They bring a diverse depth of cannabis expertise from across the country. The four new members are excellent additions who will strengthen the board and bring new perspectives from both cannabis business and legalization campaigns. With Congress failing to act, we know that the strategy for victory will be brought back to our roots — changing state laws! MPP has been changing state laws for twenty-seven years, and our newly revamped board is positioned to lead MPP until every state has ended the failed war on cannabis," said Sal Pace, Chair of the Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors.
The new appointments to MPP’s now 9-member board of directors include:
Betty Aldworth: Prior to becoming Director of Communications and Marketing at MAPS in 2020, Betty Aldworth was the Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy where she led and supported tens of thousands of students and young people united to build a more sensible future through reforming drug policies to be rooted in safety, justice, and education.
Kim Napoli: In 2006, Kim opened The Hempest Harvard Square, a small business located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In doing so, Kim became the first female of color to own a cannabis-related business in the state of Massachusetts.
Tom Roth: Drawing on more than 17 years of corporate government affairs experience in highly regulated industries, Tom Roth helps lead state and industry relations for Scott Miracle-Gro’s Hawthorne Gardening Company as their Manager of External affairs.
Barrington Rutherford: As Chairman of the Board of Directors at Park Jordan, Barrington Rutherford brings a deep knowledge of the cannabis industry through his years of experience leading the real estate department of Cresco Labs -- one of the largest and most respected multi-state cannabis organizations in the US.
MPP has spearheaded most of the major state-level reforms that have occurred over the past two decades and has been a leading advocate for federal marijuana policy reform on Capitol Hill since the organization was founded in 1995.
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Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 14 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms.