Grow Life 420

NORML Family,

I wanted to reach out personally to you to address the current public health situation that is directly impacting all of our lives, and to discuss what this means for our shared goal of ending federal marijuana prohibition going forward.

Since its founding in 1970, NORML has always had its doors and phone lines open to assist cannabis consumers across the country. Rest assured, that is not going to change. 

We are taking this current public health emergency with the highest level of seriousness and precaution. While our physical office in Washington, DC is closed, our national staff possesses all of the tools they need to continue our operations unhindered while telecommuting from home. We are also encouraging all of our chapters and volunteers across the country to do the same and to follow the advice and protocols provided by the CDC, state officials, and most especially, by their local departments of health. What this ultimately means for you is that our phone lines are still open to field your questions and concerns (202-483-5500), and you can still reach out via email at norml@norml.org if you need assistance.

For the past 50 years, we have worked together to combat our nation’s unjust marijuana laws. By doing so, we have also fostered a community. During this trying time, we must come together to protect this community, as well as the health and safety of others. We all need to take the COVID-19 threat seriously, and NORML encourages our members to keep up-to-date with CDC guidelines and advice regarding best practices here, as well as to follow the regional advice of your local health departments. This means practicing social distancing as much as is feasibly possible, and also staying indoors to the largest extent you can — especially if you are among those who are most vulnerable, such as elderly medical cannabis patients. For the time being, as is being advised, you should avoid attending large gatherings, instead taking a serious look at the opportunities afforded to us by modern technology to communicate and host events virtually through online platforms.

As a member of our NORML family, we earnestly care about your well-being. We all know a large part of what binds us together as cannabis consumers is community and sharing. However, while we are living through the current pandemic we should all be more mindful of our day-to-day consumption practices, and how the choices we make impact not only ourselves, but also those we care about. As long as cultures have consumed cannabis, the practice of sharing a joint among friends has been a common social practice. But given what we know about COVID-19 and its transmission, it would be mindful during this time to halt this behavior. 

The cannabis community should take similar precautions when it comes to various other conduits for marijuana, including bowls, bongs, pipes, vape pens, etc. Avoid direct sharing and continually keep your personal collection clean, using 90%+ Isopropyl Alcohol is an effective and affordable way to clear any germs or pathogens off your pieces. Further, because COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, some of you may wish to limit or avoid their exposure to combustive smoke — as this can put undue stress and strain on the lungs. Alternative delivery devices, such as vaporizer heating devices can significantly mitigate combustive smoke exposure, and of course, the use of edibles or tinctures can eliminate smoke exposure entirely.

To the extent you are able, it is also best to know where your cannabis is coming from. Cannabis from the unregulated market may potentially possess molds, pesticides, or other unwanted adulterants that could hamper one’s immune system. Whenever possible, try to obtain a lab-tested, regulated product – though we fully understand that most people in our country still live in a state that enforces prohibition and this is not a realistic option. This advice is especially pertinent for portable vaping devices, as unregulated products have been known to contain vitamin E and other dangerous additives that can harm the lungs. We also encourage everyone to remain vigilant of online misinformation (like any claims cannabis or CBD can help cure or protect against this virus) and to beware of potential scammers promoting similar claims.

We know these are very anxious times for many of us. They are also difficult economically for many. Here at NORML, our staff and volunteers and loved ones are no different than you. During this time, we all share the same concerns: staying safe, taking care of our families, paying bills, and putting food on the table. While NORML has always been overwhelmingly sustained and funded by our grassroots supporters, we will be largely suspending direct fundraising asks at this time out of respect for the economic impact this situation is having on all of our lives. You should always be putting yourself and those you care about first. If you happen to be in a situation where you feel comfortable making a donation to NORML at this time, we certainly would be appreciative of any contributions you can provide. But no one should feel obligated to do so if it means placing any further undue financial strain on themselves.

Lastly, I want to reassure you that we will indeed get through this. While marijuana law reform may not be a top priority for our legislators, the media, and the broader public for the time being, history informs us that these crises do not last forever. As an organization that will celebrate our 50th birthday later this year, we’ve survived through many difficult times. Many of those times it seemed like our issue would never return to the center stage and that our fight for justice would be waylaid. But every single one of those times we came out the other side stronger as a movement and continued to make advancements. This time will be no different. 

NORML, with your efforts and support, has fought for your rights and the rights of all Americans for five decades and we certainly won’t be stopping now. In the coming weeks you will continue to hear from us about important marijuana news and about several projects that you can engage in from home to fight for our shared values. Let’s stand strong together as a family connected by those values and get through these difficulties united. 

Be kind and care for yourself and others.

My sincerest regards,

Erik Altieri
NORML Executive Director

2019 has been an unprecedented year for the passage of state-level marijuana law reforms and when we zoom out, it’s remarkable to reflect upon what we have accomplished. 

That is why are proud to publish Marijuana Reform Is Normal, which is the only comprehensive report detailing all of our collective victories in 2019. 

Click here to read the report or download the presentation PDF. 

As documented in this report, legislators across the country approved a litany of new marijuana legislation this year addressing a wide spectrum of issues. Now, nearly 1 in 4 Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal, and 33 states regulate medical marijuana access.

Public opinion continues to grow in support of ending marijuana prohibition, with two-thirds of adults — including majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and independents — now in favor of making the plant legal. Alongside growing public support, politicians, including those at some of the highest levels of government, are now recognizing the rapidly changing cultural and legal status of cannabis.

We will be sending this report to state and federal lawmakers around the country. If you can, please chip in $10 or more to help cover the printing costs.

After this historically successful year, we expect to see public and political support continue to increase in 2020 as more and more states implement sensible cannabis regulatory policies. But we can only do that if we continue to educate and build public support. 

Click here to share the 2019 Marijuana Reform Is Normal report on Facebook

Click here to share the 2019 Marijuana Reform Is Normal report on Twitter

Together, we’re going to continue to accomplish great things. We deeply appreciate your support and hard work as we inch closer to cannabis freedom nationwide. 

Onward,

Erik 

We won’t lie, this is HUGE.

This week, we will very likely have the first vote to outright end federal marijuana prohibition. The House Judiciary Committee has posted a markup for HR 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act on Wednesday, November 20th and they will likely hold a vote on the same day.

This has never happened in the history of our country and it is thanks to all the time and effort folks have put in for DECADES. The MORE Act isn’t just some half measure either. It contains many of the important reforms we have always wanted to see at the federal level. Not only will it remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act entirely, but it will also require federal courts to expunge prior marijuana-related convictions, provide grants and funding to communities most harmed by our failed war on cannabis consumers, and finally allow physicians affiliated with the Veterans Administration to recommend medical cannabis to veterans.

The American people are overwhelmingly on our side and ready to end our failed prohibitionist policies and lately more and more elected officials are joining them. However, we NEED your help to get this legislation approved. We cannot allow this opportunity to pass us by, we need to show members of Congress that their constituents are demanding real change.

CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE URGING THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE MORE ACT

Even if you have already contacted your elected officials, now is the time to do it again.

Then share the link with your family and friends and encourage them to join you.

Click here to share this alert on Facebook

Click here to share this alert on Twitter

The light at the end of the dark tunnel of prohibition is getting closer, let’s unite and make real marijuana law reform at the federal level a reality.

Today is Halloween, which means it is time for your local news to roll out the annual scaremongering story about how there are large groups of insidious people just waiting out there to give your trick-or-treating children free marijuana edibles. This is one of those marijuana myths that simply keeps coming back from the dead with a vengeance every time the Jack-O-Lanterns start popping up on your neighbors’ doorsteps.

No one is giving out edibles to children as Halloween candy. Given the average cost of a one dose edible can range from around ten to twenty five dollars it would not only be idiotic and wrong, it would also be incredibly expensive. There has never been any widespread reports of this happening in the real world, only in the minds of ratings crazed newsrooms and fear-mongering prohibitionists.

While parents should always check their kid’s candy to ensure safety, this is one threat that shouldn’t rank too highly on their list of Halloween scares. There are always a very small amount of troubled people in the world, but it this a minor threat that is getting easier and easier to prevent as states move away from the unregulated black markets of prohibition, to legalized adult use markets. At state license businesses, there are strict ID checks to keep marijuana products out of the hands of minors and regulations on edibles that make them safer for adults and easier to identify to keep away from kids. Under prohibition, these products remain untested and those who produce and sell them are incentivized to make them look like any other food product to avoid the attention of law enforcement. Legalizing and regulating marijuana has countless benefits and better enabling parents and communities to keep marijuana products away from young ones is among them.

Journalist Simon Moyer-Smith summed it up perfectly in an op-ed for NBC News published this week (that I encourage you read here):

“Halloween, of course, is a time of fear: ghouls, goblins, haunted houses and the sheer volume of leftover candy that will be around to tempt you. But it’s not a time to stoke fear about things that aren’t based in evidence and truth — and definitely not a time to demonize marijuana yet again.

So fear demons, drunk drivers and Dum Dums, but there’s no need to fear that edibles will be given out willy-nilly to trick-or-treaters on Halloween”

So NORML Nation, have a fun and safe Halloween – and enjoy your edibles responsibly.