Hemp History
Las Vegas NORML Ramps up Advocacy Efforts
With state lawmakers in Nevada quickly approaching their fast-tracked deadline of July 1st to implement the state’s new adult-use marijuana program, NORML is focused on ramping up our activism efforts in Las Vegas! Over the past two months, we’ve been busy planning, attending legislative hearings, tabling at events, doing community outreach, volunteering at our local … 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 … Continue reading
Online Debate: NORML Versus Project SAM
The Asbury Park Press and other Gannett newspaper affiliates, including USA Today, published a fairly extensive online debate on Sunday between myself and Project SAM co-founder Kevin Sabet under the header “Should We Make Marijuana Legal?” I respond to numerous alarmist claims throughout the interview, including allegations that regulating the adult use of cannabis send … Continue reading
Vermont Governor Phil Scott Vetoes Marijuana Legalization
Republican Gov. Phil Scott today rejected legislation, Senate Bill 22, that sought to eliminate criminal and civil penalties for the adult use and possession of marijuana. The Governor said that he did not support the legislation as written, but that remains open to working with lawmakers over the summer on ways to amend the state’s … Continue reading
President Trump Compliments Leader Who Executes His Citizens for Drug Charges
If the latest comments and memos coming out of Attorney General Sessions’ Department of Justice didn’t raise concerns about the Trump Administration’s potential plans to reignite our nation’s failed war on drugs, his recent call with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte should sound alarm bells. A reminder: President Duterte has extrajudicially executed thousands of his own citizens … Continue reading
Weekly Legislative Update 5/20/17
Welcome to this week’s edition of the NORML legislative roundup! This year, it seems that multiple states are vying for the honor of becoming the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process and four of them had movement this week. Ranked most-to-least likely, here is the action we saw in the last 7 days: Vermont: S. … Continue reading
Montana Special Election: Rob Quist’s Marijuana Use is NORML
One of the latest developments in the Montana Congressional special election is the news that Democratic candidate Rob Quist had previously consumed marijuana during the course of his life. Certain media outlets in the state have attempted to make a lot of hay out of this issue, hoping to shift a hotly contested election. … Continue reading
Social Consumption of Marijuana off to a Slow Start in Colorado
Currently marijuana is legal to purchase, possess and consume in the state of Colorado, but the question is: Where can it be legally consumed? Well, if you happen to be in the city of Denver (or most anywhere else in Colorado) the answer is very simple: marijuana can only be legally consumed in a private … Continue reading
Study: Racial Disparity In Marijuana Arrest Rates Increasing
African Americans in Virginia are arrested for violating marijuana possession laws at more than three times the rates of whites and this disparity is rising, according to an analysis of statewide arrest data by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Capital News Service. Researchers reviewed 160,000 state and local arrest records from the years 2010 through 2016. They … Continue reading
New Hampshire: Decriminalization Passes Senate, Soon Heads To Governor To Sign
New Hampshire is the only New England state that has not either decriminalized or legalized adult marijuana use but that is soon to change. Today, the state Senate passed an amended version of House Bill 640, which eliminates the threat of jail time for a possession conviction of less than 3/4 of an ounce and reduces … Continue reading