Independent Grassroots Party

American political party advocating marijuana legalization

Independent Grassroots Party

Founded| 1996 (1996)
Dissolved| 1998
Preceded by| Grassroots Party
Succeeded by| Legal Marijuana Now Party
Ideology| Marijuana legalization
Colors| Green

* Politics of Minnesota
* Political parties
* Elections

The Independent Grassroots Party was a moderate, democratic socialist political third party in the U.S. state of Minnesota created in 1996 to oppose drug prohibition. [1] The party shared many of the progressive values of the Farmer-Labor Party but with an emphasis on cannabis/hemp legalization issues.[2]

Some political scholars have speculated that Minnesota's marijuana political parties are responsible for the state DFL Party embracing cannabis legalization two decades later.[3]

## History[edit]

The Youth International Party, formed in 1967 to advance the counterculture of the 1960s, often ran candidates for public office. The Yippie flag is a five-pointed star superimposed with a cannabis leaf.[4] Following the Yippie Party's lead, the Grassroots Party was established in Minnesota, in 1986, as an independent political party that focused on marijuana legalization.[5][6]

In 1996, the Minnesota Grassroots Party split, forming the Independent Grassroots party. John Birrenbach was the Independent Grassroots Presidential candidate and George McMahon was the Vice-presidential candidate.[7] Dan Vacek was the Independent Grassroots candidate for United States Representative (Minnesota District 4).[1][8] In 1998, members of the Independent Grassroots Party established the Legal Marijuana Now political party.[2][9]

## 1996 U.S. presidential candidates[edit]

### Independent Grassroots Party results in presidential elections[edit]

Year  | Candidate  | VP candidate  | Ballot access  | Popular votes

|
|
|
|

1996 |
John Birrenbach of Minnesota |
George McMahon of Iowa | MN[7] | 787[7]

## 1996 results in Minnesota state elections[edit]

### Results in federal elections[edit]

Year  | Office  | Candidate  | Popular votes  | Percentage

|
|
|
|

1996 | United States Representative, District 4 | Dan Vacek | 2,696[8] | 1.05%

## See also[edit]

* Cannabis political parties of the United States

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Shaffer, David (July 22, 1996). "On political fringe, with public funds: Grassroots Party stands on prostitution, adult-child sex push some members away". St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Dan Vacek, another longtime Grassroots Party activist who also opposes the party's new direction, registered this year to run for Congress under the banner of a splinter group that also has "Grassroots" in its name. "I don't really support any fringe issue at all," said Vacek, whose campaign is focused mainly on legalizing pot. "I am the mainstream alternative. I think we have to end the prohibition on marijuana.""
2. ^ a b Harvieux, Vincent (May 3, 2018). "Joint Ops: Why Minnesota has two pro-marijuana parties". Perfect Duluth Day.
3. ^ Labovitch, William (November 27, 2022). "How Minnesota got to marijuana legalization politically". Star Tribune.
4. ^ Reston, James Jr. (1991). "Collision at Home Plate: The Lives of Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti, p. 78". University of Nebraska Press. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803289642.
5. ^ Kahn, Aron (October 1987). "Marijuana backers keep issue burning / Controversy still alive". Star Tribune. ""When we're handing out leaflets, some people will mutter, 'Get a job,' like we're subclass citizens," Grimmer said. "They typecast us. They judge people by the coloration of their thoughts." Grimmer, who holds a doctorate in physics, has a job, thank you. He is a research scientist at 3M. "The reason why we are in our present mess with respect to drug prohibition is that people do not analyze the situation rationally," said Grimmer, who ran for Minnesota attorney general last year under the aegis of the Grass Roots Party."
6. ^ Gilyard, Burl (July 5, 1995). "Doobie Brothers: Grassroots Party members grapple with their budding political clout". Twin Cities Reader.
7. ^ a b c Bickford, Bob (October 7, 1998). "1996 Presidential Election Results by State". Ballot Access News.
8. ^ a b Minnesota Secretary of State (November 1996). "Minnesota Election Results 1996, p. 40" (PDF). Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
9. ^ Brash, Jim (April 20, 2016). "Q & A with the Legal Marijuana Now Party of Minnesota". The North Star. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017.

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Cannabis

* Outline of cannabis
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General|

* Autoflowering cannabis
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Effects|

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Organizations|

| Cannabis rights|

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Science|

* International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS)

Demographics|

* Adult lifetime use by country
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Politics|

| General|

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|

Major legal
reforms|

* Treaty law: Rescheduling of cannabis in 2020
* Canada: 2018 Cannabis Act
* UK: Return to class B
* Uruguay: Law No. 19172
* US:
* Decriminalization of non-medical use
* Rescheduling per the Controlled Substances Act
* Hemp Farming Act of 2018

Politicians
and parties|

* Cannabis political parties
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Legal cases|

* Ker v. California (1963)
* Leary v. United States (1969)
* Kyllo v. United States (2001)
* Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
* ADPF 187 (2011)

Related|

* Drug liberalization
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* Cannabis portal
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Drug policy interest groups (non-nicotine and non-alcohol)

General|

* Drug policy
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* 1961 Narcotic Drugs
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Organisations
supporting
prohibition|

| North
America|

* International Narcotics Control Caucus
* Le Dain Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs
* Office of National Drug Control Policy
* Above the Influence
* Drug Abuse Resistance Education
* Smart Approaches to Marijuana
* War on Drugs
* Winners Don't Use Drugs

|

Elsewhere|

* Anti-Narcotics Force
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* Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking
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* United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Organisations
supporting
legalisation or
harm reduction|

| North
America|

* Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics
* American Alliance for Medical Cannabis
* Americans for Safe Access
* Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis
* Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy
* DanceSafe
* Drug Policy Alliance
* DrugWarRant
* High Times Freedom Fighters
* Law Enforcement Action Partnership
* Marijuana Policy Project
* Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition
* National Cannabis Industry Association
* National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
* November Coalition
* Patients Out of Time
* Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation
* Students for Sensible Drug Policy
* Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access
* VANDU

|

Elsewhere|

* British Legalise Cannabis Campaigns
* Cannabis and Hemp Association of Namibia (CHAN)
* Cannabis Law Reform
* Fields of Green for All
* Drug Equality Alliance
* European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies
* FAAAT think & do tank
* Finnish Cannabis Association
* International Network for People who Use Drugs
* Metzineres
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Cannabis
political parties|

| North
America|

* Bloc pot
* British Columbia Marijuana Party
* Freedom Party of Manitoba
* Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party
* Legal Marijuana Now Party
* Legalize Marijuana Party
* Marijuana Party (Canada)
* Marijuana Reform Party
* Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
* United States Marijuana Party

|

Elsewhere|

* Ale Yarok (Israel)
* Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (New Zealand)
* Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol (UK)
* Cannabis Party (Spain)
* Dagga Party (South Africa)
* Cannabis sans frontières [fr] (France)
* Legalise Cannabis Australia (Australia)
* Legalise Cannabis Queensland (Australia)
* Representación Cannábica de Navarra (RCN-NOK) (Spain)

Research and
medical groups|

* Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics
* Beckley Foundation
* DrugScience
* Heffter Research Institute
* International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
* International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service
* Lindesmith Center
* Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies
* Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
* San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club
* Society of Cannabis Clinicians
* Trans-European Drug Information network

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Political parties in Minnesota

Recognized major parties|

* Legal Marijuana Now Party
* Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
* Republican Party of Minnesota

Recognized minor parties|

* Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party
* Green Party of Minnesota
* Independence Party of Minnesota
* Libertarian Party of Minnesota

Other minor parties|

* Constitution Party of Minnesota

Historical parties|

* Minnesota Democratic Party
* Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party
* Minnesota Progressive Party
* Socialist Party of Minnesota

* Politics of Minnesota
* Political party strength in Minnesota

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State and local political parties in the United States

State and local political parties without a federal or national parent body

State parties|

| Alaska|

* Alaskan Independence Party
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|

California|

* American Independent Party
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* Peace and Freedom Party

Florida|

* Ecology Party of Florida
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Michigan|

* Natural Law Party of Michigan
* Working Class Party

New York|

* Conservative Party of New York State
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* Rent Is Too Damn High Party

New Jersey|

* Moderate Party (New Jersey)
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Oregon|

* Independent Party of Oregon
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Rhode Island|

* Green Party of Rhode Island
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Vermont|

* Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party
* Vermont Progressive Party

Other states|

* Approval Voting Party (Colorado)
* Independent Party of Delaware
* Georgia Green Party
* Aloha ʻĀina Party (Hawaii)
* Grassroots—Legalize Cannabis Party (Minnesota)
* Libertarian Association of Massachusetts
* Libertarian Party of New Mexico
* Keystone Party of Pennsylvania
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* Independent Greens of Virginia

Local parties|

* Charter Party (Cincinnati, Ohio)
* Progressive Dane (Dane County, Madison, Wisconsin)

Territorial parties|

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* Movimiento Unión Soberanista (Sovereign Union Movement)
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* Proyecto Dignidad (Project Dignity)
* Puerto Rican Independence Party
* Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
* Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party
* Working People's Party of Puerto Rico

|

U.S. Virgin Islands|

* Independent Citizens Movement

National political parties in the United States
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