NORML Seeks Marijuana Law Reform
BY BLAKE REHBERG

On the weekend of April 20, I drove to Washington D.C. to attend “A Celebration of Personal Freedom,” the annual conference for the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws. My main intention was to gather information and strategies to implement on the Oberlin campus in conjunction with a local chapter of NORML that is currently charter pending. Major themes of the weekend included racial discrimination in drug law enforcement, international developments in marijuana-law reform, an examination of how media coverage shapes drug policy, and an evaluation of the 107th Congress and the prospects for federal marijuana law reform.
Since its founding in 1970, NORML has been the principal national advocate for legalizing marijuana, leading successful efforts to decriminalize minor marijuana offenses in 11 states and decreasing penalties in all others. Though the decriminalization movement fell victim to the “war on drugs,” in recent years it has gained public support and political success in the form of medicinal use initiatives.
Governor Gary Johnson (R-N.M.), Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Ira Glasser and San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan were among the preeminent speakers that appeared at the conference.
“Marijuana-law reform is a mainstream issue that enjoys growing public support, as is evident by the contingent of prominent elected officials appearing at this year’s conference,” NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said. 
The first day of the conference focused on legal issues, with panel topics ranging from “Drug Laws, Civil Liberties and Discrimination” to “Decriminalization/Legalization: New Strategies to Respond to Changing Attitudes.”
Johnson spoke during the lunch break and drew media attention in the form of live C-SPAN coverage. The day was packed full of information running almost two hours over the scheduled eight hours of talks. Speeches ranged from the gripping testimony of Hallinan on his work with medicinal marijuana patients in the San Francisco area to the inspiring closing speech of Ethan Nadlemann of The Lindesmith Center–Drug Policy Foundation. Nadlemann is largely responsible for the initial success of the initiatives that began appearing on ballots in 1996.
The second day expanded the topics to include medical, social and international issues. Marsha Rosenbaum, also of the Lindesmith Center–Drug Policy Foundation, gave a talk about harm reduction strategies for teenagers that could be more effective than the current Drug Abuse Resistance Education and other current programs headed up by the government. A panel of medical professionals addressed several topics dealing with various medical uses of marijuana including uses for migraines, vaporization and addictions. 
After lunch, panels examined media influences and how international policies might sway the U.S. drug war. The drug reform movement is making progress in Switzerland and Canada, and the resulting legislations may shake up drug prohibition that has taken a foothold on the international level. The media panel, made up of four professional journalists, included a large percentage of the drug reform allies who actually work in journalism. Mike Gray, author of Drug Crazy, used an example that had occurred in that day’s issue of The New York Times. Johnson’s speech the previous day found its way to the front page of the style section with a goofy photo and a headline with a pun on drug use.
The day closed again with another emotional speech, this time by Lester Grinspoon. Grinspoon was one of the first medical researchers to actually look into the effects of marijuana. He published Marijuana Reconsidered with the Harvard Medical School Press.

The final day of the conference looked at activism and the immediate future of the drug reform movement. The day opened with a panel called, “Marijuana Policy and the 107th Congress” followed by another panel that addressed state initiatives. After that, Frank addressed the issue of the 107th Congress again. Frank has filed a bill to repeal the Higher Education Act of 1996 that disallows federal aid to students who have been convicted of a drug crime. An obvious friend to the drug reform movement, Frank instilled confidence that there is hope for legislation to move forward.

After lunch, panels addressed the Internet as a tool for activism, running a local NORML affiliate and organizing public protests. The Internet panel discussed its role as an educational and networking tool, making it a valuable resource for combatting the extensive propaganda campaign waged by the government. The public protest panel consisted of organizers from across the country that have put on successful events educating thousands of people.