Mike Tyson, Kevin Durant, other sports stars urge Trump to enact cannabis reform in White House letter

PARTICULAR A coalition of sports stars and entertainers have sent a letter to the White House urging President Donald Trump to enact cannabis adjustment The group is headlined by boxing legend Mike Tyson NBA superstar Kevin Durant former NBA star Allen Iverson former boxer Roy Jones Jr former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant former NFL star Antonio Brown and former NFL player and prominent cannabis advocate Ricky Williams Williams' name appears twice on the list of signees CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMThe group labels itself the Coalition of Athletes and Entertainers Supporting President Trump s Guidelines Objectives The letter highlights three main points in their proposed adjustment Clemency for nonviolent marijuana offenses encouragement for marijuana rescheduling and ending discriminatory banking practices The first point in the letter points out Trump's previous pardon of music producer Weldon Angelos who was sentenced to years in prison in November for marijuana charges Angelos was distributed in and then pardoned by Trump in December The letter also criticized former President Joe Biden for a lack of action on addressing marijuana-related incarcerations In contemporary times people continue to serve lengthy federal sentences for conduct that is now legal in largest part states which makes their continued incarceration not only cruel but absurd After making sweeping promises to voters in former President Biden failed to deliver on his pledge to address marijuana-related injustices Not only did he leave office without commuting the sentences of those incarcerated for marijuana but in one of his final acts he denied nearly every pending marijuana-related clemency application the letter states This betrayal only underscores the urgent need for bold leadership we believe and represents an opportunity to correct glaring disparities as part of your Administration s ongoing push for criminal justice reorganization EX-NFLER SAYS HE'D 'BE IN TROUBLE' IF CANNABIS WERE STILL WIDELY ILLEGAL GLAD TODAY'S PLAYERS CAN USE ITThe second point in the letter urges Trump to reclassify the drug from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III The difference in the respective schedules which are determined by the Drug Enforcement Agency DEA determines how drugs are viewed in terms of their possible for abuse vs curative application Schedule I substances have a high prospective for abuse and have no accepted curative use in the U S They also have a high prospective for severe psychological and or physical dependence Schedule III substances have a moderate to low likely for physical and psychological dependence compared to Schedule I and II drugs and they have accepted clinical use in the United States Marijuana s current classification as a Schedule I substance is scientifically outdated economically detrimental and at odds with modern curative understanding the letter states Rescheduling marijuana would harmonize federal law with state policies promote innovation encourage research and drive economic expansion The final point in the letter arguing against discriminatory banking practices points out that Trump has been opposed to a previous U S initiative called Operation Choke Point which investigated banks and the business they did with firearms dealers payday lenders and other companies that while operating legally were declared to be at a high exposure for fraud and money laundering The group argued marijuana businesses have also been affected by that initiative and other banking practices State-legal cannabis operators including countless of us have also been unjustly denied banking services despite full compliance with state law the letter read Despite operating legally in states employing over Americans and generating more than billion annually these businesses face unjust obstructions to banking services and their employees struggle to obtain mortgages from traditional lenders Moreover cannabis businesses cannot take standard business deductions leading to effective tax rates often exceeding While foreign cannabis companies benefit from listings on U S exchanges such as NYSE and NASDAQ American cannabis operators are unjustly excluded We fully help your commitment to 'work with Congress to pass common-sense laws including safe banking ' ensuring fair economic opportunities and equal access to financial services for all American businesses The other figures listed on the letter to the White House include former NBA players Steven Jackson Chris Webber JR Smith John Salley and Al Harrington former NFL players Jim McMahon Kyle Turley Champ Bailey Marvin Washington and Tony Richardson and former boxers Boyd Melson Paul Willias and Keith Thurmon The entertainment figures on the letter are streamer Adin Ross rappers Lil Pump and Ralo and musician Wyclef Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter