Dana Passmore was 20 years old studying criminology when cannabis was first legalized, and it fascinated her to think about how an unprecedented federal legalization framework was going to function following 100 years of prohibition. It wasn’t long before she learned about the shortcomings of the Cannabis Act that caused those with pre-legalization charges for cannabis related offences to be left in a perpetual state of criminalization. Knowing that so many people were (and are) still facing the consequences for engaging in an activity that has since become legal never sat right with her, so she started getting involved in advocacy. Dana pursued a Masters of Public Policy and Administration degree to get a better understanding of how policy tools are selected, developed, and implemented from an institutional standpoint, and has used the critical thinking skills she has gained throughout my education to develop a major research project that sheds light on the socioeconomic shortcomings of Canada’s cannabis legalization framework.

Dana started following Cannabis Amnesty in 2019 after becoming completely enthralled by their advocacy work. After three years of quietly supporting their contributions to the legal cannabis space, in 2022, she began volunteering as Cannabis Amnesty’s Retail Ambassador and works to bring the Cannabis Amnesty mission to the retail space to inspire as much engagement as possible. Dana is a proud cofounder of the first-of-its-kind Joints for Justice initiative that drives profits of an OCS-listed cannabis product to the organization, and will keep working alongside this incredible organization until cannabis criminal records are erased.

Aisha (she/her) is a second-generation Canadian with Oromo roots. She starts her second year at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law in the fall. She completed her undergraduate degree in Applied Computer Science with a minor in political science in her hometown Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia), before moving to Toronto to attend law school. Aisha has been involved in student politics and grassroots organizing since high school. She has most recently been the President of the Dalhousie Student Union (2019 – 2020) and the Co-President of the Black Law Students’ Association (2022 – 2023). Aisha strongly believes that when individuals come together and organize strategically around inequities, system change is possible. As a young abolitionist, Aisha is very interested in the radical transformation of our justice system. She believes that making space for critical conversations on the inequities of society is an important first step in addressing them and develops anti-oppression workshops around social justice, community care, solidarity between movements and more as a freelance facilitator. Aisha is also passionate about music, styling curly or textured hair and mental health.

Stephanie DiGiuseppe is a founding member of Cannabis Amnesty, a partner at a Toronto litigation firm, and an advocate for systemic change in the areas of criminal justice reform and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Stephanie’s advocacy work spans from reducing barriers and increasing capacities for youth in the criminal justice and school system, lobbying the Canadian government for humane and compassionate justice system reform, and working with communities affected by cannabis prohibition through her work with Cannabis Amnesty.

As Cannabis Amnesty’s Director of Operations, Stephanie has managed key partnerships with industry leaders such as Canopy Growth, Houseplant, Hiku Brands, HEXO, Aurora and others. She has spearheaded some of Cannabis Amnesty’s most exciting projects, including the Doja x Cannabis Amnesty PARDON sub campaign and PARDON truck activation, which was a finalist for the 2019 Canadian Cannabis Award for Top Non-Profit, Charity or Community Initiative.

In the courtroom, Stephanie defends individuals in complex criminal and public law proceedings and has been counsel on some of Canada’s most high profile criminal case. In 2020, Stephanie received the Precedent Setter Award, which recognizes lawyers who have “become masters of their practice areas and agents of change in the community”. In 2022, Stephanie was selected by her peers as one of Canada’s “Best Lawyers” in the area of criminal defence and in 2021 as one of Toronto’s Top Criminal Defence Lawyers by Post City’s TRNTOPublication.