This article originally appeared in High Times Magazine’s 50th Anniversary Print Issue. Order yours here and get it delivered to your door.
Political and societal changes rarely occur organically. They only happen when advocates agitate for them.
For over five decades, NORML and its grassroots supporters have advocated for ending the criminalization, discrimination, and stigmatization of cannabis consumers. We have been deliberate and diligent in our efforts to change the way people talk and think about the marijuana plant and those who consume it.
It’s been – and it remains – an uphill battle. Our movement challenges powerful special interests, like law enforcement. Our work is deeply underfunded. Our advocates are often underrepresented in the mainstream media and in the political arena. But we are winning nonetheless because our message is irrefutable: It makes no sense from a public health perspective, a fiscal perspective, or a moral perspective to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate adults who choose to responsibly consume a substance that is objectively safer than either alcohol or tobacco.
Also read: Want Clean, Safe Cannabis? Home Grow And Legal Access Are The Answer
At the time of NORML’s founding, only about one in ten Americans believed that cannabis should be legal. Today, 70 percent of Americans support legalization. There are several reasons for this dramatic shift in public opinion. One: the devastating effects of prohibition – including the arrest of over 30 million Americans, disproportionately young and poor people, for violating marijuana possession laws – have been laid bare for all to see. Two: the successes of legalization – including the public health benefits provided by the growing acceptance of medical cannabis and the economic benefits provided by regulated markets – have become impossible to deny. As more jurisdictions have moved to legalize the plant for either therapeutic or recreational purposes, public support for …
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Author: Paul Armentano / High Times
