Cannabis’s ‘Friendly Conservative Face’ Tackles Congress

Marijuana lobbyist Don Murphy took it as a compliment when one Republican U.S. senator told him he was like “gum on one shoe”—hard to get rid of and always there.

Murphy, a former Maryland state legislator, has been a rare Republican in the legalization movement for two decades, adding a “friendly conservative face on marijuana policy.”

His job has gotten easier as Republican support for legalization has grown, rising from 22% in 2000 to 53% last year, according to an Oct. 2018 Gallup poll. Republican allies like Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, where legal cannabis sales have totaled $6.7 billion ...