Embattled Marijuana Policy Project co-founder Rob Kampia has temporarily stepped down as executive director in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal. His three-month suspension is effective today. "I just think I'm hyper-sexualized," he told the Washington Post.

"I wasn't nearly careful enough in considering other people's feelings with my actions and my language. I've also learned I'm capable of change, because overnight we changed the culture of MPP. The board said that if anything like this happened again, I'm fired,"

Kampia will spend the next three months in therapy and must convince the MPP board, headed by Peter Lewis, that he has sufficiently rehabilitated his attitude towards woman before being allowed back in the office.

Kampia admitted to having sex with a female employee on Aug. 7. Since then, seven employees quit the pro-pot org as rumors about Kampia's sexual misconduct circulated in Washington and in the tightly-knit marijuana-reform community.

Former communications director Bruce Mirken states: "None of us who left MPP over its handling of this incident take any pleasure in this. MPP is an important organization, whose work literally saves lives. It is critical that MPP's board use this period to take a thorough, fearless look at the whole sequence of events, including both the August incident and the way it was handled, and act to preserve the organization's integrity."

Diane Fornbacher, who came forward and told CelebStoner about an incident involving Kampia several years ago, says the punishment is "not harsh enough, but not surprising. This is a slap on the wrist. He should apologize individually to everyone he has wronged. Apologizing is one thing. Making things right is another."

Photo by CelebStoner


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