This 4/20, someone is serving life in federal prison for the same plant, but with different outcomes. For the people we've highlighted this month, a second chance isn't a metaphor. It's the only thing standing between them and a life of incarceration. These are their stories.
Thousands of Americans are serving egregious sentences handed down for a plant that is now legal in most of the country.
Legal for some. A life sentence for others.
Head to our website to donate, to advocate, and to bring someone one step closer to freedom.
Link in our bio.
April marks Second Chance Month, a national recognition that people are more than their records. For those with non-violent marijuana convictions, it's a moment to celebrate the pathways being opened and the lives ready to move forward.
Tens of thousands of people remain behind bars for cannabis offenses that are no longer crimes in many states. While others freely build businesses in the legal industry.
The injustice is clear.
Anyone who profits from the legal cannabis industry must also work to release and rebuild the lives of those who suffered under its criminalization. Through clemency advocacy, record clearing, and reentry support, we all can make a difference.
A single conviction shouldn't define a person's future. This April, we stand with everyone fighting for the second chances they deserve.
Too many people are still losing out on opportunities because of past cannabis convictions, even in states where it’s legal. That’s pretty half-baked! A fully-baked future means legalizing cannabis and erasing all past cannabis convictions. Take action for cannabis justice in your state NOW at the link in our bio. 🍪
Calling all artists and designers: We want your help designing our next line of merch (& we will pay)!
⭐ Due date: Monday, June 15, 2026
🟢 Theme: What does cannabis justice mean to you?
🟢 Price: Any designs selected by the LPP team will be paid an agreed upon rate!
🟢 Specs: Please submit print-ready files in the highest resolution possible
✅ How to submit: Email [email protected]
We’re looking for eye-catching designs that will inspire others to fight harder those still behind bars for cannabis. Browse our shop for inspiration or submit something totally unique!
After serving a 3-year federal sentence for a nonviolent cannabis offense, Alrick Perry is finally home, reunited with his wife and children in Norfolk, Virginia.
While Alrick was incarcerated, Last Prisoner Project provided support grants to help his family stay afloat. Upon his release, he also received a reentry grant to help him begin again. 🤝
Now, he’s focused on building a new future.
“I really appreciate Last Prisoner Project for being on this journey with me. I hope to enter the legal cannabis industry and continue rebuilding my life.”
Alrick’s story is a reminder that justice doesn’t end at release; it continues through support, opportunity, and community.
Thousands of people and families are still navigating the devastating impact of cannabis criminalization. Your donation helps fund Last Prisoner Project’s legal program, policy and advocacy work, reentry assistance, and direct financial aid for individuals and families impacted by cannabis incarceration.
Donate today to help us continue bringing people home and supporting them as they rebuild their lives.💚
Meet Yasquasia Delcarmen💚
She's a mother, a musician, and an aspiring screenwriter serving 8 years in federal prison for cannabis, a plant that's legal in most of the country.
Her son was 11 months old when she was taken into custody. He is now two years old. She has missed his first steps, his first Christmas, his first birthday.
Yasquasia is fighting to come home. We are fighting with her. LPP has added her to our pro bono attorney matching program to file her clemency petition and enrolled her in our letter-writing program.
Read Yasquasia's full story and write her a letter of solidarity. She should know she has not been forgotten 💌
Links in our bio.
Welcome home, Louis.
Louis Earl Dixon III missed years of his children's lives, not for a violent crime, not for hurting anyone, but for a marijuana offense in a country that couldn't decide what it believed.
He's a father of four. He served over four years of a five-year sentence for a non-violent cannabis charge in Texas, a state where it's still illegal, while dispensaries opened freely across state lines.
After his release last year to a halfway house, Louis is now fully free and reunited with his family. But his journey isn't over; he still faces four years of supervised release.
Last Prisoner Project was there when it mattered most, providing Louis with a reentry grant to help him rebuild his life and get back on his feet.
This is what Last Prisoner Project does. Every single day.
Freedom shouldn't depend on your zip code. A cannabis conviction shouldn't cost someone years they can never get back.
If his story moves you, please donate to Last Prisoner Project so we can keep showing up for families like the Dixons, before, during, and after. Link in bio.
Gabriel was sentenced to three decades in federal prison for a non-violent cannabis offense in Albuquerque, New Mexico. By the time he walked free 22 years later through the First Step Act, that same city had cannabis shops on every corner.
His story is one of resilience, injustice, and the kind of hope that doesn't break, no matter how long the walls close in. And now, he's using his voice to send hope to other cannabis prisoners still fighting for freedom.
"Stay strong in who you are and never give up that hope of one day being a part of the free world once again." - Gabriel Gomez
Julian Andrade is 22 years old. He's a father, a son, a nephew, and a man of faith. He's also three years into a 75-year prison sentence for a nonviolent marijuana charge.
He was 19 when he was sentenced in Texas. His son was born while he was behind bars. He has never been able to watch him grow up. And while he sits in a cell, he says one of the things he looks forward to most upon release is something most of us do without thinking twice: pumping gas, walking through a grocery store, just living his life.
Julian didn't hurt anyone. He knows he broke the law. But he also knows that the substance he was sentenced for is legal in more than half of this country, and that no one should spend decades in prison for a plant.
And even the path to clemency is nearly out of reach. Texas requires a written recommendation from a majority of the current trial officials, the present prosecuting attorney, the judge, and the sheriff or chief of police of the arresting agency from the county and court of offense, conviction, and release, just to be eligible to apply. The very system that locked Julian up is the same one he'd need permission from to get out. His aunt has stood by him every step of the way, fighting to make sure his story is heard. Now we're helping make sure it is.
Ask yourself, is this justice?
Link to his story in our bio.
Legalization without justice isn't enough.
Stephanie Shepard, LPP advocate and survivor of 9 years in federal prison for a non-violent cannabis conviction, recently testified before Pennsylvania lawmakers. Demanding that any cannabis legalization bill include automatic expungement for past convictions.
As Pennsylvania's House Bill 20 stalls in the State Senate, Stephanie's message was clear, "Automatic relief is the No. 1 thing." She's asking lawmakers, and all of us, to reckon with the thousands of people still carrying the weight of convictions for something that may soon be legal.
Read the full CBS News Pittsburgh story and take action at the link in our bio.
@deshaundurhamff was 21 years old when a Kansas judge sentenced him to 7.5 years in prison for a first-time, non-violent cannabis offense, with no prior criminal history.
It took years of tireless advocacy from Last Prisoner Project, a clemency petition filed with the help of attorney Barry Grissom, and even a personal appeal from musician and advocate Melissa Etheridge (@etheridgefoundation ) to move the needle. On December 7th, 2024, Governor Laura Kelly made it right, commuting Deshaun's sentence and sending him home to his family after more than 2.5 years behind bars. Last Prisoner Project provided him a reentry grant to help ease his transition back into society.
Last year at Last Prisoner Project's Annual Gala, @megatron of @primitiv_group presented Deshaun with the Cannabis Reform Hero Award to show that community and determination can change someone's narrative. Now, Deshaun is turning his pain into purpose. He's attending the University of Kansas with plans to go to law school, advocating for people still incarcerated on cannabis charges, and mentoring at-risk youth. His story doesn't end with his release; it's just beginning.
This is what a second chance looks like, and why it is so important to lift those who deserve it.
