norml

In response to President Biden's recently announced actions in regards to federal marijuana policy, NORML's Executive Director Erik Altieri has issued the following statement:

"Many of the efforts taken and proposed by the President today are long overdue. For nearly two years, NORML has called upon the Administration to fulfill the President's campaign promise to provide relief to those stigmatized with a low-level cannabis conviction. We are pleased that today President Biden is following through on this pledge and that he is also encouraging governors to take similar steps to ensure that the tens of millions of Americans with state-level convictions for past marijuana crimes can finally move forward with their lives. Since 1965, nearly 29 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana-related violations -- for activities that the majority of voters no longer believe ought to be a crime.

In response to the sentencing of Brittney Griner to nine years in a penal colony in Russia for possession of hash oil, NORML has released the following statement from Executive Director Erik Altieri:

"Brittney Griner's sentence of nine years in a penal colony for simple possession is a grotesque affront to the concept of justice and an unfortunate reminder of how draconic marijuana laws remain around the globe. However, it should also cause a serious level of reflection amongst our lawmakers and officials who feign disgust at the draconic punishment Griner is facing while turning a blind eye to the hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding American citizens we throw in jail for the same crime. The time for platitudes is over, the United States government needs to realize the current federal policy of marijuana prohibition and anti-marijuana laws in many states aren't notably different than the stance held by Putin's regime in Russia and take real action to end those failed policies.

A majority of the US House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, or H.R. 3617, in a floor vote on Friday. The MORE Act removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby allowing states to legalize cannabis markets free from federal interference. The Act also provides for the expungement or resentencing of those with nonviolent federal marijuana convictions, promotes diverse participation in the state-regulated cannabis industry, and helps repair the racially and economically disparate harms caused by America's past prohibition policies. According to a just-released Congressional Budget Office analysis, passage of the Act would increase revenues by over $8 billion in ten years and would also significantly reduce federal prison costs.

"This vote is a clear indicator that Congress is finally listening to the vast majority of voters who are sick and tired of our failed marijuana criminalization policies and the damage they continue to inflict in communities across the nation every day," said NORML's Political Director Morgan Fox. "It is long overdue that we stop punishing adults for using a substance that is objectively safer than alcohol, and that we work to address the disparate negative impacts that prohibition has inflicted on our most vulnerable individuals and marginalized communities for nearly a century.

In a 4 to 1 opinion issued today, justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved initiative (Constitutional Amendment A) legalizing the adult-use possession and sale of cannabis.

"Legalization opponents cannot succeed in the court of public opinion or at the ballot box," NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "Thus, they are now petitioning the courts to overturn the will of the people. Whether or not one supports marijuana legalization, Americans should be deeply concerned by this trend and by the outcome of this case."