Mikel became Arizona NORML’s State Director in 2015. He was passionate in his reform advocacy endeavors, stating that “his main devotion is, and has been, advancing the work of Arizona NORML.” He was especially proud of the group’s successful efforts to reform the state’s medical cannabis access laws and was working on the state initiative to legalize marijuana at the time of his passing.
Category: ACTIVISM
House COVID Package Includes Cannabis Banking Relief, But Not Small Business Support
Included in the language of the bill is HR 1595: The SAFE Banking Act, which amends federal law so that explicitly banks and other financial institutions may work directly with state-legal marijuana businesses. Members of the House of Representatives voted 321 to 103 in favor of the Act in September. Reform advocates, including NORML, had lobbied leadership to include banking reform in the latest COVID relief measure.
NORML Activist Spotlight: Tamara Netzel
An unlikely activist fighting for reform in the Commonwealth of Virginia and on Capitol Hill
NORML Resource Guide: Engaging Effective Activism During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this guide, NORML highlights various online tools to assist reformers in their advocacy endeavors. As America awaits a return to normal, here are numerous steps that you can take today to keep successfully engaged with pundits, politicians, and other influencers during this pandemic.
A Founder Looks at 50: Keith Stroup on the Schafer Commission
As one reviews the modern history of marijuana policy in this country, beginning with the adoption of federal marijuana prohibition in 1937 (i.e., the Marijuana Tax Act) and continuing to where we are today with 33 states having legalized the medical use of marijuana and 11 states and the District of Columbia having legalized adult recreational use, perhaps the single most important step along the way was the report issued in 1972 by the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse.
A Founder Looks at 50: Keith Stroup on Starting NORML
On NORML’s 50th anniversary, NORML’s Founder Keith Stroup reflects back on a lifetime as America’s foremost marijuana smoker and legalization advocate. This is the first in a series of blogs on the history of NORML and the legalization movement covering the founding of NORML itself.
An Adapted Yet Awe-Inspring April with Nevada NORML
Even in the midst of a global pandemic that’s resulted in devastating shockwaves felt across every economic sector, Nevada NORML has nevertheless continued to strongly advocate for cannabis reform in these uncertain and unknown times.
NORML Joins Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Groups To Support Small Cannabis Businesses
In a letter to House leadership, the Marijuana Justice Coalition, which is made up by groups including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, the Drug Policy Alliance, NORML, and others, sent a letter to Congressional Leadership requesting that small marijuana businesses be able to access the emergency relief funds being administered by the Small Business Administration. The Coalition letter focuses on the need for small business access to the SBA relief funds as an avenue to protect the progress that has been made by minority entrepreneurs in the emerging legal cannabis marketplaces. “Now more than ever, if we are to provide pathways of opportunity and ownership for communities that have been historically targeted…
State of the States: 2020 Ballot Initiative Efforts
Activists have been working for months registering new voters, collecting signatures, and educating the public, in hopes of giving voters in their state the opportunity to make their voices heard and cast their vote for marijuana. But social distancing guidelines have made this work virtually impossible. Here is an overview of key 2020 ballot initiative efforts and where they stand now.
New Legislation Would Permit Marijuana Businesses to Access COVID-19 Relief
“Cannabis businesses are major employers and significant contributors to local economies in Colorado and across the country. They should receive the same level of support as other legal, legitimate businesses and be eligible for SBA relief funds during this COVID-19 crisis.”