Lawmakers around the country are debating a record number of marijuana law reform bills in…
Tag: Pennsylvania
With New Jersey recently becoming the 14th medical marijuana state, activists in marijuana law reform have been celebrating.
Cannabis law reformers are going into 2010 strong: Arkansas: Looks like the ‘Natural State’ is…
It can readily be said that 2009 was one of the busiest and most productive years in cannabis law reform since NORML’s founding in 1970. However, it appears as if 2010 is going to be an even busier year–notably marked by the increasing number of actual state legalization bills and a voter initiative in America’s most important state.
Harrisburg — as lawmakers are debating, for the first time ever in the Keystone State, the medicinal benefits of marijuana.
Kudos goes out to Philly NORML and their allies for working directly with Democrat Rep. Mark Cohen to introduce House Bill 1393, The Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act of 2009 and make today’s hearings a reality.
Last January I proclaimed in the The Hill’s Congress blog: “Marijuana law reform is no longer a political liability; it’s a political opportunity.” Ten months later it appears that an unprecedented number of state-elected officials are heeding the message. Here’s just a sample.
PhillyNORML is a sterling example of how ordinary cannabis consumers can band together under the NORML banner and affect real change at the local level. Reformers at the national level don’t have the on-the-ground knowledge of local politics like everyday citizens living in cities like Philadelphia. Local reformers can better cultivate personal relationships with mayors, city councils, and all their staff, as well as integrate with groups as disparate as unions and libertarian groups, parents and police, and churches and universities.
Equally ironically, the research is taking place at Temple University in Pennsylvania — where any use of natural cannabis (bad!) as a medicine is criminally illegal, but where research into the use faux cannabis (good!) is embraced.