Is NORML Finally Normal?

[Segami]

:smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke:
:smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke:


Finally, times are a changin' and hopefully, for the best..



" Five years ago, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws might as well have been a group of bible-burning terrorist skinheads. A politician who received a donation from NORML would probably return it. Sure, the occasional candidate for statewide office would seek the group's support, says NORML director Allen St. Pierre, "but not the ones who weren't bat shit crazy."



Recently, however, it's starting to seem a lot more normal to be NORML. Two weeks ago, NORML received its first-ever request for an endorsement by a mainstream candidate for governor. Vermont Democrat Peter Shumlin wanted NORML's stamp of approval and $6,000 from its political coffers, St. Pierre says. And Shumlin is actually polling four points ahead of his Republican rival.



There must have been something in the Rice Krispies that week, because soon after, NORML got a landmark endorsement and fundraising request from a mainstream candidate for state attorney general, Democrat Stan Garnett. If elected, he'll be responsible for enforcing Colorado's marijuana laws.



"I wasn’t sure I was going to live long enough to see mainstream political candidates contact us" asking for support and money, St. Pierre says. "So I think that is a clear tea leaf that we have arrived at."



And for that St. Pierre should probably thank another political oracle, California, where a ballot measure to legalize recreational pot, Proposition 19, is polling better than any of the state's political candidates. It might even help elect some of them. And that could be the only evidence Washington needs to classify yesterday's scourge as tomorrow's wonder drug.




<http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/10/norml-finally-normal>


.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Segami.:thumbsup:

[derby378]

2. When the Dallas City Council voted to outlaw K2 and salvia...

...there were three people at the meeting who spoke out against the proposed new law. I was one of them. One of the Dallas attorneys for NORML was one of the others.

I stayed within my three-minute limit at the podium, told the City Council that their hearts were in the right place, but also told them that outlawing K2 and salvia would only criminalize a lot of people who used these substances instead of marijuana. I advocated taxing K2 and salvia as well as banning sales to anyone under 21 years of age. The money could be used for public health initiatives, including drug treatment programs for those who wanted to kick the habit. We've had a lot of success lately in driving down our own crime rates, and part of the credit goes to a smarter drug policy that emphasizes treatment for addicts as well as reducing the black-market trade on the street. I also pointed out to the City Council how our crime rates have been dropping for the past 30 months, so there was no real impetus to outaw K2 or salvia by calling it a public safety issue.

Then there was the Dallas NORML representative. He was passionate, yes, but he wandered off into the weeds occasionally during his three-minute address, exceeded his alloted time by a significant margin, and seemed to forget Robert's Rules of Order at times. The Mayor threatened to have him removed for interrupting a rebuttal by one of the other Council members. The NORML attorney said that the Council member was making his rebuttal a personal attack on him, but yeah, he was definitely out of order. The Council member addressed some of his words to me as well, but I didn't take any of it personally. He heard me out, now I should hear him out.

The new law passed almost unanimously. One Council member voted against the new law, wanting to compare the hospitalization rates for K2, salvia, and alcohol before moving any further.

That's my take. Some NORML representatives could still use some fine-tuning in terms of delivering their message, as evidenced by what I saw at that City Council meeting, but if they can calm down and keep focused on the goal, it will help their efforts greatly.

[Iggo]

3. We've come a long way, baby.

[PoliticAverse]

4. It's getting there. Keep the pressure on. n/t

[mdmc]

5. ..