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Robin Lockett and Elijah Manley Jump in The Rotation to Talk Cannabis Reform, People Power and Florida’s Future
- Carlos Hermida
- Aug 3
- 8 min read
Florida House candidate Robin Lockett and congressional candidate Elijah Manley joined The Rotation for a direct conversation about marijuana reform, hemp small businesses, criminal justice and what people-powered representation should look like.
Florida voters are about to make some important choices, and The Rotation by Suncoast NORML is making sure cannabis policy is part of the conversation.
In the latest episode, hosts Gary Stein, Christopher Cano and Carlos Hermida welcomed two candidates from different parts of Florida: Robin Lockett, a candidate for Florida House District 63, and Elijah Manley, a candidate for the U.S. House in Florida’s 20th Congressional District.
The result was more than a standard campaign interview. It was a wide-ranging conversation about marijuana legalization, protections for medical cannabis patients, threats to Florida’s hemp industry, federal descheduling, expungement, education, corporate influence and the difference between representing a community and merely collecting a title.
Here is the short version: both candidates said government should listen more closely to the people living with the consequences of its policies. On cannabis, that means finishing the job—not declaring victory while patients can still lose jobs, parents can still face discrimination, small businesses remain under threat and people continue to carry records for conduct that now makes corporations rich.
Robin Lockett: “Democracy Demands Participation”
Lockett is running to represent Florida House District 63, which she described as covering Temple Terrace, East Tampa, Tampa Heights, Seminole Heights, portions of Ybor City and West Tampa, and communities south of Fowler Avenue.
Her campaign grows out of years of community organizing, voter engagement and advocacy on issues including housing, education and local government. During the episode, Lockett repeatedly returned to one idea: democracy no longer merely requires participation—it demands it.
That philosophy shaped her response to cannabis policy.
Lockett openly acknowledged that she is not a marijuana consumer. That made her answer more meaningful, not less. Instead of treating personal experience as a prerequisite for compassion, she said her responsibility is to ask questions, avoid judgment and understand how public policy affects the people she would represent.
“It’s not for me to look down on,” Lockett said. “It’s for me to try to understand.”
She also expressed support for legalization while identifying a persistent Tallahassee problem: lawmakers often pass a policy without addressing its real-world implementation. Legal access means little if a patient can still be fired, penalized in a custody dispute or punished professionally for following state law.
Legal Medical Marijuana Is Not the Same as Equal Protection
Suncoast NORML was founded in 2014 during Florida’s fight for medical marijuana. Voters approved Amendment 2 in 2016 with more than 71% support, yet significant gaps remain.
The episode highlighted several unfinished issues facing Florida’s medical marijuana patients:
Florida still does not permit patients to grow cannabis at home.
Employees may lack meaningful workplace protections for legal off-duty medical use.
A patient’s cannabis status can become an issue in family and custody disputes.
Professionals may face licensing questions or sanctions connected to cannabis.
Federal prohibition continues to create conflicts involving firearms, banking, research and employment.
For Suncoast NORML, these are not side issues. They are the difference between nominal legalization and genuine freedom from cannabis discrimination.
Lockett said better policy requires lawmakers to bring affected people and knowledgeable advocates into the room before legislation is treated as complete. Her approach was simple: ask the necessary questions, understand the consequences and then be prepared to explain and defend the policy.
That willingness to listen matters in a legislature where cannabis debates are too often driven by stigma, campaign money or the interests of entrenched industries.
Florida’s Hemp Industry and the Fight for Small Businesses
The conversation became especially local when the hosts discussed repeated efforts in Tallahassee and Washington to restrict hemp-derived products.
The episode was broadcast from Chillum in Ybor City, a small business located within House District 63. Carlos Hermida described what it feels like to operate a legal hemp business while lawmakers repeatedly consider proposals that could remove products from the market or make the business model impossible.
Suncoast NORML’s position is not that hemp should exist without rules. Sensible age restrictions, testing, labeling and responsible retail standards can protect consumers. But regulation should be based on evidence and should distinguish compliant businesses from bad actors. A sweeping ban is not thoughtful regulation, and small businesses should not be sacrificed to eliminate competition for larger industries.
Lockett first asked an important question: exactly how are lawmakers trying to shut these businesses down? That is the kind of basic fact-finding every legislator should do before voting on a proposal that could erase jobs and livelihoods.
She then pointed back to a candidate’s record. In her view, politicians who have never demonstrated concern for their communities are unlikely to discover that concern after taking office. Representation begins long before Election Day.
Elijah Manley Calls for Federal Descheduling and Repairing the Damage of Prohibition
The second guest, Elijah Manley, is a middle school teacher and candidate for Congress in Florida’s 20th District. He described the district as being entirely within Broward County and including communities between Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise, as well as Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Plantation and Tamarac.
Manley framed his campaign as a challenge to establishment politics and a government that too often responds to donors before residents. He said his campaign had raised approximately $1.2 million from roughly 25,000 individual contributors, without corporate PAC money.
When the conversation turned to federal cannabis policy, Manley supported moving beyond Schedule III and removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.
That distinction is critical. Rescheduling could reduce some barriers, but it would not end federal prohibition. Descheduling would recognize that cannabis never belonged beside the nation’s most tightly prohibited drugs in the first place and would give Congress room to address the consequences of nearly a century of enforcement.
Manley also argued that legalization cannot be considered just while people remain incarcerated or burdened by records for cannabis activity that is now generating wealth for well-connected companies.
“We need to get people out of prison for this,” he said. “Pay them back. Wipe their records clean.”
He described people criminalized for marijuana as innovators rather than criminals and criticized the hypocrisy of former prohibitionists profiting from the legal cannabis industry while others continue to live with damaged careers, families and futures.
What Meaningful Federal Cannabis Reform Should Include
The discussion points toward a more complete federal reform agenda:
Remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act. Cannabis reform should end federal prohibition, not simply move marijuana to another schedule.
Release people incarcerated for nonviolent cannabis offenses. No one should remain behind bars for conduct that is legal and profitable elsewhere.
Automatically clear eligible cannabis records. Relief should not depend on navigating an expensive, confusing petition process.
Repair communities harmed by enforcement. Reinvestment should reach the neighborhoods that endured disproportionate arrests, incarceration and lost economic opportunity.
Protect legal state programs and compliant hemp businesses. Federal law should create workable standards without wiping out responsible small operators.
End collateral punishment. Cannabis history or lawful patient status should not block employment, housing, education, professional licensing, parental rights or other essentials of civic life.
This is the difference between changing a law and repairing the harm that law created.
Education, Trades and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Although cannabis policy remained the mission of the show, Lockett and Manley also found common ground on education.
Lockett, a Tampa Bay Tech graduate, argued for rebuilding robust career and technical education. Students should have access to trades, apprenticeships and certifications that allow them to graduate ready to become an employee—or build a business of their own.
Manley agreed that schools have become too narrowly standardized around college preparation. He recalled woodshop, construction, graphic design and coding programs that gave students practical experience and, in some cases, job-ready credentials. He called for more workforce training and financial literacy alongside traditional core subjects.
The conversation also connected educational opportunity to criminal justice. When young people leave school without skills, credentials or genuine economic options, the school-to-prison pipeline becomes easier to maintain. Reinvesting in trades is therefore not only workforce policy; it is prevention, community development and public safety policy.
People-Powered Politics Versus the Status Quo
Both interviews returned to the question of who elected officials answer to.
Lockett argued that community connection cannot be manufactured after a candidate wins. Manley said refusing corporate PAC money gives him the freedom to listen to residents rather than special interests. He described grassroots fundraising as something that moves in waves, built one supporter, one conversation and one small contribution at a time.
That same principle applies to cannabis reform. Major change rarely begins with powerful institutions volunteering to surrender power. It begins when patients, consumers, families, workers, advocates and small-business owners organize around a clear demand.
And yes, the episode also delivered an excellent accidental visual punchline: Gary Stein with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose entry into the District 20 race became part of the discussion. The photograph briefly stole the show, as Gary photographs with politicians tend to do. Consider it proof that The Rotation can ask serious policy questions without pretending politics is not occasionally very funny.
Why Candidate Conversations on Cannabis Matter
Cannabis policy is often treated as settled because a majority of states now permit medical use and many allow adult use. It is not settled.
Patients still face discrimination. People still carry records. Consumers still encounter unequal enforcement. Researchers still face federal obstacles. Small hemp businesses still confront existential legislation. And marijuana remains federally controlled.
That is why The Rotation invites candidates to go on the record. Voters deserve to know whether a candidate will merely say that cannabis should be legal—or will champion the detailed policies required to make legalization fair, safe and complete.
Robin Lockett demonstrated that a candidate does not need to be a cannabis consumer to listen, learn and support justice. Elijah Manley argued that descheduling must be paired with release, record-clearing and material repair for people harmed by prohibition.
Those are the conversations voters should demand before ballots are counted, not after the winners arrive in Tallahassee or Washington.
Watch and Support The Rotation by Suncoast NORML
The Rotation brings elected officials, candidates, policy experts, activists and members of the cannabis community into direct conversation each week. Follow Suncoast NORML, subscribe to the show and share this episode with a Florida voter who wants more than campaign slogans.
You can also support Suncoast NORML by becoming a member, donating or getting involved in the work to secure safe, affordable cannabis access and end prohibition-related discrimination.
Visit SuncoastNORML.org and follow @Suncoast_NORML on Instagram for new episodes, advocacy alerts and upcoming events.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who appeared in this episode of The Rotation?
The featured guests were Robin Lockett, a candidate for Florida House District 63, and Elijah Manley, a candidate for the U.S. House in Florida’s 20th Congressional District.
What did Robin Lockett say about marijuana legalization?
Lockett said she supports legalization and emphasized listening without judgment. She also said lawmakers must address implementation issues and the real-life consequences of policy, including protections affecting workers, parents, patients and small businesses.
What is Elijah Manley’s position on federal cannabis reform?
Manley supported removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act rather than merely rescheduling it. He also called for releasing people incarcerated for marijuana, clearing records and compensating people harmed by prohibition.
Why did the episode discuss Florida hemp businesses?
The hosts discussed repeated state and federal efforts to restrict hemp products and the risk those policies create for compliant small businesses. They argued for evidence-based regulation that protects consumers without handing the market to large corporate interests.
What is The Rotation by Suncoast NORML?
The Rotation is Suncoast NORML’s cannabis policy podcast. The show features candidates, public officials, experts and advocates discussing marijuana laws, patient rights, criminal justice, public health and legalization.
Editorial note: This recap is based on the supplied episode transcript. Candidate positions, campaign fundraising figures and criticism of political opponents are presented as statements made during the program and should not be interpreted as independent verification or an endorsement by Suncoast NORML.
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