Exclusive: Berner Pushes To Support Release Of Pot-Prisoners With Launch Of RELEASE PAPERS

Rapper and entrepreneur Berner’s rolling paper brand, VIBES, has teamed up with the Last Prisoner Project in conjunction with creative company Mother to launch RELEASE PAPERS. The idea behind the campaign is to encourage the public to advocate on behalf of individuals imprisoned for marijuana-related convictions. The rolling papers will be available later this July in-store and online at vibespapers.com.

Each RELEASE PAPER includes the name of one of four pot prisoners along with a QR code driving to the site for more information. There, supporters can sign the Cannabis Clemency Now petition urging the President to release federal cannabis prisoners and participate in the letter-writing program, which sends letters to the featured inmates.

See also: 35 Years Of Hard Labor For $20 Worth Of Weed: Unraveling The Kevin Allen Case In Louisiana

"So many people are still locked up with lengthy sentences related to cannabis,” stated Berner, founder, and CEO of VIBES. “While at the same time, so many states have made up their mind that cannabis should be legal, and those states are where those people are still serving time, which makes absolutely no sense. Campaigns like this are part of who I am, we have to speak up, stand next to and support causes like Last Prisoner Project. I've helped raise awareness for Richard Delisi, Corvain Cooper and soon, Robert Deals. There are so many more people to fight for, and I need your help to fight for their freedom."

Until The Last Prisoner Is Free

Those four incarcerated people whose names will appear on new rolling papers are:

• Edwin Rubis, currently serving a 40-year sentence for a victimless offense;

• Hector McGurk, serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a nonviolent marijuana offense;

• Moe Taher, sentenced to 25 years in prison for selling cannabis;

• Ricardo Ashmeade, serving a 22-year sentence for a victimless offense. Despite a reclassification of a California conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor, the federal courts have refused to resentence him.

"Vibes Release Papers are helping illuminate the injustice our constituents continue to face, even as more states legalize cannabis. President Biden has the power to right history and free Edwin, Hector, Moe, and Ricardo with the stroke of a pen, says Stephanie Shepard, LPP Board Member and director of advocacy. “We are grateful to have Vibes join our fight as we keep advocating until everyone still incarcerated for cannabis is fully free."

A portion of the profits go to the Last Prisoner Project, which is calling on President Biden to continue to act on broad-based criminal justice and drug policy reform by granting clemency to the tens of thousands of individuals currently incarcerated due to - or otherwise unduly burdened by - federal cannabis-related convictions.

Photo: Courtesy of VIBES