Author Archives: ushempmuseum
Oakland’s Marijuana Equity Permit Program
In March of this year, Oakland City Council implemented the Equity Permit Program for marijuana businesses. This program is designed to address the past disparities in the cannabis industry by giving priority to the victims of the war on drugs and minimizing barriers of entry into the industry. Ultimately, their goal is to remove the … Continue reading
WA NORML: 2017 State of the Session Report
WASHINGTON STATE: For the first time Washington NORML had a regular lobbyist in Olympia this year. The truth is NORML has almost always been staffed by volunteer activists. That’s what I was, at a NORML chapter in Missouri, interning for NORML’s national office in Washington DC, and later as head of NORML’s Thurston County chapter. The reward … Continue reading
HUD Secretary Ben Carson Spreads Marijuana Myths
Photo Credit: Carlo Allegri Giving remarks to the Native American Housing Association, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson strayed into the marijuana reform debate. Unfortunately, the doctor did not know his facts. Per the Flathead Beacon: The HUD secretary briefly strayed from his prepared remarks to note that he believed marijuana use was just as … Continue reading
Translating A Victory From Citywide to Statewide
NORML KC Originally, NORML KC formed to focus on the criminal penalties. We looked towards fellow Missouri towns such as Columbia and St. Louis which had already decriminalized, and we wanted Kansas City to join those municipalities on a more progressive and tolerant path. Our initial goal was to reduce the current penalties in Kansas … Continue reading
Court Case Highlights Need For Continued Federal Protections
Last week, a US District Court blocked federal prosecutors from continuing a case against a medical marijuana cultivation company as a result of the current, albeit limited, congressional protections from the Department of Justice. LA Weekly reported: Humboldt County growers Anthony Pisarski and Sonny Moore had already pleaded guilty to federal allegations (conspiracy to manufacture … Continue reading
Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2017
Representatives Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD-01), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-03), H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19) introduced H.R. 3391: The Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2017. This Act amends the federal law to facilitate clinical investigations involving the use of cannabis and cannabis-derived products. As you may know, there are many benefits to medical cannabis. … Continue reading
Register for the 2017 NORML Conference
NORML’s 2017 Conference at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC and Congressional Lobby Day at the United States Capitol is scheduled for September 10th-12th. Hundreds of marijuana consumers, activists, patients and business owners are expected to attend a day-long training and informational conference on Monday and re-convene on The Hill Tuesday to personally lobby their … Continue reading
Washington State Responds To Attorney General Sessions’ Veiled Threats
As first reported by Tom Angell of MassRoots.com, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson responded to a July 24 letter from US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in which Sessions’ made multiple allegations all based on a single misleading 2016 report. One would say, they didn’t pull any punches: “Your letter, citing the March 2016 … Continue reading
Setting the Record Straight
One of NORML’s primary missions is to move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana by adults. One of the ways we successfully achieve this goal is by debunking marijuana myths and half-truths via the publication of timely op-eds in online and print media. Since the mainstream media seldom casts a critical eye toward … Continue reading
Peachtree NORML Challenges the Faith and Freedom Coalition
Post originally published on Peachtree NORML. At the Georgia Republican Assembly Convention on 8/12/2017 David Baker, the Executive Director of the Faith and Freedom Coalition of Georgia, used a portion of a 1993 quote from the then Executive Director of NORML, Richard Cowan. Mr. Baker quoted Cowan as saying “The key to it (marijuana legalization) … Continue reading
