Help Us Reach the Marijuana Tipping Point

Dear NORML members and supporters,

It is nearly impossible to detect the precise moment when support for a change in social policy reaches the “tipping point”, but for the marijuana legalization movement, that time was likely July 26, 2014, when the editorial board of the New York Times published their editorial entitled Repeal Prohibition, Again.

For those who may have missed it, here an excerpt; it is one of the strongest endorsements I have ever read.

“The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana.” …

“The social costs of the marijuana laws are vast. There were 658,000 arrests for marijuana possession in 2012, according to F.B.I. figures, compared with 256,000 for cocaine, heroin and their derivatives. Even worse, the result is racist, falling disproportionately on young black men, ruining their lives and creating new generations of career criminals.”

“There is honest debate among scientists about the health effects of marijuana, but we believe that the evidence is overwhelming that addiction and dependence are relatively minor problems, especially compared with alcohol and tobacco. Moderate use of marijuana does not appear to pose a risk for otherwise healthy adults. Claims that marijuana is a gateway to more dangerous drugs are as fanciful as the “Reefer Madness” images of murder, rape and suicide.”…

“Creating systems for regulating manufacture, sale and marketing will be complex. But those problems are solvable, and would have long been dealt with had we as a nation not clung to the decision to make marijuana production and use a federal crime.”…

“it is long past time to repeal this version of Prohibition.”

And that is only beginning. The Times editors, with whom NORML’s staff and board have been assisting for some time, are now publishing additional editorials, dealing with different aspects of marijuana legalization on a daily basis. The editors of America’s most influential newspaper have not just changed their position; they are now determined to lead the change from marijuana prohibition to legalization.

Their new position on marijuana policy reflects a gradually evolving perspective, going back to 1966, when the paper warned readers that marijuana “for a considerable number of young people who try it, it is the first step down the fateful road to heroin.”

By 1969, they were calling for some “distinction between soft and hard drugs,” and by 1972, with the release of the Marijuana Commission report, the Times acknowledged “the dangers inherent in smoking marijuana appear to be less than previously assumed,” and called for the elimination of penalties for possession and use.

But it was not until early 2014 that they heralded the opening of the first licensed marijuana shops in Colorado, noting that the experiences in Colorado and Washington “will serve as test cases for full-on legalization.”

And now they have taken the crucial, final step to endorse full legalization for all adults, the position NORML has advanced since 1970.

New York Times

• 1966 – “for a considerable number of young people who try it, it is the first step down the fateful road to heroin.”
• 1969 – “distinction between soft and hard drugs,”
• 1972 – “the dangers inherent in smoking marijuana appear to be less than previously assumed,”
• 2014 – “The federal government should repeal the ban on marijuana.”

So we trust you will understand if, to those of us at NORML, who have been fighting for full legalization for 44 years, we see this latest endorsement by the New York Times as the unofficial tipping-point for legalization.

Sure, there remains a great deal of work to move legalization forward in the remaining 48 states. But with the favorable reviews coming out of Colorado and Washington, and with the national polling demonstrating that we currently enjoy the support of between 53% and 58% of the American public, we think it is fair to say we have turned the corner politically, and victory will be ours within just a few years.

And that is why we are writing today, to ask that you please make a generous contribution to NORML so we can expand our lobbying activities, and media and educational outreach efforts so that we can continue to build on this momentum. Without question, we are finally winning this struggle, but nevertheless marijuana arrests continue unabated in most states today, and seriously ill patients still do not have access to medical marijuana in more than half of the states.

Let us take a well-deserved moment to celebrate the enormous progress we have made, but then let’s get back to work to stop the senseless arrests of marijuana consumers. We must stop destroying the lives and careers of so many otherwise law-abiding citizens, simply because they prefer to use marijuana when they relax in the evening, just as tens of millions of Americans enjoy a beer or a glass of wine at the end of the day. And we need to put in place regulations for licensed marijuana growers and sellers, to bring the black market above ground.

NORML was the first marijuana legalization lobby in America-with over 1.5 million supporters and members we’ve been the voice for marijuana consumers now for more than four decades.

Please make a tax-deductible donation to NORML Foundation (for public education and mass communications) and/or a regular charitable donation to NORML (in support of our direct lobbying and other political activities).

With your generous support, we can continue to lead the charge for full legalization, both state and federal, all across this country.

Regards,

Keith Stroup
NORML Founder and Legal Counsel

Article republished from NORML