Episode 2: Karen O’Keefe on ending the drug war

In this episode, Karen and Jeffrey discuss ending the drug war, education, human rights, and Bike advocacy… As the director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), Karen manages grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in state legislatures for the nation’s leading marijuana policy organization. Working closely with local allies and lawmakers, her team led the successful advocacy campaigns to pass more than a dozen medical cannabis and decriminalization measures through state legislatures. Her department also spearheaded the campaigns that made Vermont and Illinois the first two states to legalize marijuana for adults’ use legislatively (rather than by voter initiative), as well as the campaign to make Connecticut the most recent state to legalize cannabis. Karen earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service Award. She lives in West Hollywood, California, and has been involved in a wide array of community activism and volunteerism, including related to education, bicycling infrastructure, disability rights, peace, and human rights. She also served as an appointment member of the West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Commission from 2018-2021. Relevant links: MPP.org, whatiffoundation.org, schoolonwheels.org, wehobike.org