"We're not promoting marijuana," Steves says. "We're advocating changing a law that's causing more harm to our society than the drug it's supposed to protect us from."

Steves is on the board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and in 2012, he helped lead the fight for Initiative 502, which legalized the drug for recreational use in his home state of Washington. "

"As more and more states implement regulated markets for the medical or personal use of cannabis, no industry can operate safely, transparently, or effectively without access to banks or other financial institutions," NORML Political Director Justin Strekal said in an interview. "If the ABA is able to hasten congressional change in federal policy so that these growing number of state-compliant businesses, and their consumers, may operate in a manner that is similar to other legal commercial entities, then it is yet another sign that the end of prohibition is near."

“It doesn’t just cover incumbents in Congress, major parties and third parties,” Altieri said. “It covers everyone down the line. Anyone who accesses the site can be informed enough to vote.”

The struggle with cannabis dependence is the exception, not the rule.

The issue was put on the table by Escondido-based attorney Edward Wicker, who owns the Wicker Law Group, a firm which maintains offices in both downtown Escondido and in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego. Wicker also serves as one of the leaders of the group San Diego NORML, a chapter of the broader National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Since 1996 voters have seized the opportunity on Election Day to approve ballot measures legalizing medical marijuana access in over a dozen states. If past is precedent reformers will once again have numerous victories to celebrate on Nov. 7 while setting their sights on broader federal reforms in 2019.

"The cannabis that people smoked decades ago is not the same as what’s being offered in dispensaries today," said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a nonprofit that promotes legalization and responsible use of cannabis.

“The primary difference is that in many jurisdictions, accessing and consuming cannabis is now legally accepted under state law. As a result, seniors today — unlike in years past — often have safe, above-ground access to a variety of lab-tested strains of cannabis flower, as well as a range of infused cannabis products like tinctures and capsules — products that were rarely available in the past,” Armentano said."

“A careful review of the relevant science does not now, nor has it ever, supported a hard-line approach to cannabis scheduling. Cannabis’s abuse potential relative to other substances, including legal substances like alcohol, tobacco and prescription medications, does not warrant its continued criminalization under either U.S. or international law," Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said in an email. "By any rational assessment, cannabis prohibition is a disproportionate public policy response to behavior that is, at worst, a public health concern. But it should not be a criminal justice matter and international laws should no longer classify it as such."

Erik Altieri, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told Healthline that there’s a wide variety of options in legal states.

“If you look through the currently regulated market in a number of states, you’ll see that what the regulation has brought about is a more diverse array of options for individuals to consume their cannabis,” he said.

“That includes a whole selection of different types of edibles. It involves topical lotions, tinctures that are taken orally, vaporizer pens, patches, all sorts of things that are not related to the stereotypical smoking of a joint,” he noted. “They’re very popular. In places like Colorado, sales of those products have begun to make up a plurality to majority of their sales."

Public Broadcasting System travel guru Rick Steves isn't pro-marijuana, he's anti-prohibition.

"There is a capricious and arbitrary nature to this that plays out every day," said Chris Goldstein, an area organizer with NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Chrissy Knox has a new hat to wear.

She’s already a mom of two and a budtender. But in September, she became chair of the Eastern Washington chapter of NORML Women of Washington, a state organization dedicated to improving cannabis laws along with general advocacy for responsible adult use.

Jax Finkel, executive director for the Texas Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said her group is excited to work with the governor on the issue, assuming he is reelected.

“He said he doesn’t want people sitting in jails, and we agree with that. People should not be in jail for possession of a plant, and so we look forward to those conversations with his office,” Finkel said.

"This decision reflects the rapidly changing cultural and legal status of cannabis, and affirms that employers should not be able to discriminate against those who use marijuana responsibly while off the job, in compliance with the laws of their state," said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, a pro-marijuana group.

But that probably won’t do Cobbs much good, says NORML’s Armentano.

“I do agree the language of the executive order doesn’t seem to make much sense, it seems to contradict itself,” he said. “I think it’s also interesting that it says at the end ‘does not mean the use of a controlled substance pursuant to a valid prescription or other uses authorized by law.’ I can’t for the life of me imagine what those ‘other uses authorized by law’ could possibly be."

“If you’re denied pathways to opportunity when you’re in your teens, when you’re in your 20s, the compounded loss of economic potential by the time an individual hits their 40s or 50s is huge,” says Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

NORML even gave 80 House reps an “A” grade on its 2018 congressional scorecard, and 29 members have declared their support for ending federal marijuana prohibition by sponsoring the STATES Act.

Lehigh Valley-based marijuana advocate Jeff Riedy's voice echoed through the hallowed halls of the Pennsylvania Capitol: "We're all ready for reform, right?" the Bethlehem resident and Lehigh Valley NORML executive director said to open a rally Monday in Harrisburg. An enthusiastic response followed from the crowd, estimated at about 200 and with a handful of state officials participating.

For this reason, deputy director of El Paso NORML, Valerie Hubbard, believes that safety is the most important thing for student marijuana users to know about.“You don’t want to be smoking in fear. You want to be enjoying cannabis for your general well-being without the worry of a state-elected prison sentence or jail sentence or having your life ruined over something like that,” Hubbard said. “Students themselves need to get out and vote. They need to be a part of the political process, understand how it really works, understand what politics is about, and to understand that every choice in their life is political. The sooner one understands that politics is the way of life, it’s the only way we can get anything done.”

The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (or NORML), a non-profit organization in D.C. that supports the legalization of non-medical marijuana, has studied the records and platforms of political candidates across the nation and come up with a list of endorsements for those "who support NORML-friendly public policy and legislation."

"If we can legalize marijuana, stop criminalizing individuals, and save lives, I think that's a good deal for North Dakota."

"Actions by law enforcement run counter to both public support and basic morality," added NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. "In a day and age where twenty percent of the population lives in states which have legalized and nearly every state has some legal protections for medical cannabis or its extract, the time for lawmakers to end this senseless and cruel prohibition that ruins lives."

Evident from this state-specific data is the reality that Americans’ desire for cannabis legalization is bipartisan — with voters in blue and red states alike expressing majority support. Voters support for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes is even more strongly bipartisan, with super-majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents endorsing reform.

Wheatley will introduce a bill to do just that on Monday. The Pennsylvania Auditor General has previously estimated the state could gain $600 million annually from legalization.

Patrick Nightingale is with the Pittsburgh chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

“[Right now] this money just disappears into the black market and goes right into the pockets of drug dealers,” Nightingale said.

"Frank Latta was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1978, and many people say marijuana can be helpful in treating the disease.

Latta served several years on the Gillette council and was mayor of Gillette for eight years. He served four years in the Wyoming legislature.

Now, he’s director of the Wyoming chapter of NORML. He said he resents the implication that a support for a change in law makes you a pothead. For him, it’s about what’s the best policy for the citizens of Wyoming."

Doug Greene, legislative director of the Empire State National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), suggested sealing records of those who have been convicted.

Ben Leiner, of Empire State NORML, suggested that when marijuana is legalized, the state needs to make sure it’s not just big companies that profit.

The series of listening sessions will run through October across New York State, and will be used in drafting legislation that could be introduced in Albany next year.

A federal judge has ordered two initiative petitions seeking to decriminalize marijuana possession in Garrettsville and Windham be placed on the November ballot, a month after they were denied consideration by local elections officials.

Justin Strekal, political director of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said in a statement that the committee’s actions “are the death rattle of marijuana prohibition.” “Those who seek to maintain the oppressive policies of cannabis criminalization are grasping at straws in their effort to undo the public policy progresses that have now been enacted in a majority of states,” he said.

The executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Erik Altieri, and federal political director, Justin Strekal, were in the state for a three-day visit starting Friday, Sept. 21, to discuss the issue through the media, hold a fundraiser, train volunteers supporting the measure and to "support our friends."