NORMLizer – The L-Word

By Allen St. Pierre

While the American public clearly, even enthusiastically, supports medical access to cannabis (75%) and decriminalization for adult possession (73%), a significantly smaller portion of the population (42%) supports outright legalization. Thankfully, that didn’t stop California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) from boldly introducing legislation in March to finally legalize the sale of cannabis for non-medical purposes – i.e., for responsible adult use!

Proponents, including NORML, framed the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act as a way to generate more than $1 billion in new tax revenues and reduced enforcement costs in California – a tough case to argue against in these troubling economic times. So let the debate begin in earnest, particularly now that a viable marijuana-legalization bill has been introduced in the nation’s largest state (which also happens to be the nation’s most cannabis-tolerant – and cash-strapped – state), with the world’s eight-largest economy and an already existing semi-legal retail market for medical cannabis – a market that’s clearly leaving billions of uncollected tax dollars on the table, unable to benefit a general population that supports legalization and control.

Wait, it gets better. Once the bill dropped in California, the ensuing media wildfire quickly spread, until my NORML “legalization” file literally overflowed with fascinating and persuasive columns, editorials, TV coverage, academic papers and white papers, to say nothing of grant requests to study legalization, requests to start new NORML chapters; political-action committees seeking our donations for pro-reform political candidates; and requests for funding for legalization-related protests, rallies and concerts.

Best of all, the legalization train continues to gather steam, with state legislators in Massachusetts and Texas (yep, you read that right: Texas) working with NORML to draft legislation designed to regulate the legal production and sale of cannabis, while assigning wholesale and retail taxes, along with licensing fees, to help plug the massive economic holes in these states’ budgets, as well as provide sustainable annual revenues for the foreseeable future based on cannabis’s current popularity and use patterns.

Want to take a peek into the brave new world of legal marijuana? “Yes We Cannabis,” the 38th annual NORML conference and HIGH TIMES Activist Awards show, will be held September 23 to 25 in San Francisco. Make plans now for the trip of a lifetime!

Allen St. Pierre is the executive director of NORML in Washington, DC. You can contact NORML at www.norml.org or 888-67-NORML.

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN THE JULY 2009 ISSUE OF HIGH TIMES