Letter Writing Program
No one should be in prison for cannabis.
Imagine sitting in a cell for years, decades, or even for life, convicted of an activity that is no longer a crime, while thousands of other people build intergenerational wealth doing exactly the same thing. That is the situation that tens of thousands of drug war prisoners face today in the United States alone, while countless others languish in jails and prisons worldwide.
Write one of them a letter. Let them know you're fighting for their freedom and thinking of them.
How it works
Pick someone from the roster below and write to them here. Our team prints your letter, addresses the envelope, covers the postage, and mails it on your behalf. You don't need paper, stamps, or their address.
We launched the digital portal in 2023 to make it easier than ever to connect with people incarcerated for cannabis offenses. Since then it has carried thousands of letters from people across the country. Delivery inside usually takes two to three weeks, and a reply can take a few weeks more.
What to put in your letter
The biggest hurdle is getting started. A good first letter introduces you, says how you came to hear about your pen pal, and talks about ordinary things — hobbies, pets, music, what's happening where you live. Let them know that cannabis justice activists like you are fighting for their freedom.
Assume staff will read it. Mail is opened and inspected before it reaches the person it's addressed to, so leave out anything you wouldn't want a DOC officer reading, and avoid drawings or markings that could be misread as code.
If you'd like a reply, your return address has to appear in the body of the letter. The return address portion of the envelope is cut off before mail is handed over. We handle that for you on this page.
Is it safe to give my address?
It's a fair question and most people writing their first letter ask it. You have two options here. You can use your own address, which is what makes a real back-and-forth possible, or you can use ours — letters go out under Last Prisoner Project's Denver address, replies come to our office, and we forward them to your email. Nobody sees your home address in that case.
If you'd like a reply but not at your home, a P.O. box works too. Either way, use your real first and last name in the letter.
What am I signing up for?
One letter. That's the whole commitment, and one letter genuinely matters.
If you'd like it to become an ongoing correspondence, say so and be honest about how often you can write. Someone serving a life sentence receiving two enthusiastic letters from a stranger who then disappears is worse than a single warm note that never promised more. Don't set an expectation you can't keep.
What Last Prisoner Project does
Legal. Clemency work at the state and federal level, compassionate release motions, and record relief — over 250 constituents matched with pro bono attorneys since 2020.
Constituent services. Financial support, tools, and resources for people rebuilding their lives after incarceration. Over $3,500,000 delivered directly since 2020.
Advocacy. Letter writing drives, constituent storytelling, and direct action to raise awareness of cannabis-related incarceration.
Policy. Legislation that releases people still incarcerated for now-legal activity and automatically clears those convictions.
Who pays for the postage
We do. It costs about $1 to print, mail, and stamp each letter submitted here. If you'd like to cover a few, you can sponsor a letter — but nothing about writing one costs you anything.