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NORML Report: Out of the closet, into the statehouse: |
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Written by Paul Armentano
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Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
TV travel show host Rick Steves asks legislators to decriminalize adult use
Best selling author, travel show host and NORML Advisory Board Member Rick Steves sent a letter in July to every state and federal elected policymaker in his home state of Washington asking them to immediately change state and federal laws such that marijuana possession and responsible adult use be decriminalized.
Steves decided to contact his state's politicians after recently participating in public lectures sponsored by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island. After his talks received heavy media coverage in the Seattle-area, Steves got dozens of positive contacs and notes of encouragement. He decided to share his experience with State legislators in an open letter.
?I've been on the advisory board of NORML for several years so I see our marijuana laws as overly harsh and prohibition taking a negative and needless toll on our society as alcohol did back in the early 1930s. In the interest of wise drug policy and harm reduction, I am a proponent of taking the European approach and treating marijuana as a health rather than a criminal problem.
?I've always found the both politicians and the media secretly agree with my stance. While politicians may agree with me, they understandably fear political fallout if they are considered ?soft on drugs?.
?The point of my communication with you is that I have never had such over-whelming and positive feedback from a controversy that I've stepped into. Everywhere I've gone in the last week, people have thanked me for bravely addressing what is generally considered a painful prohibition in our society. After reviewing this, let me know if I can be of any help in supporting you to speak out to get America to take the crime out of marijuana.?
More information about Steves and other NORML Advisory Board Members advocacy work is available at norml.org, where you can also get a 'Pack NORML with Rick Steves' hemp travel pack.
The four pillars of NORML are its legal committee, public education activities, national convention and local chapters. The organization relies on donations to support its work. For more information:
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or call 202-483-5500.
AG asks AK Supreme Court to allow pot recrimin law
The state Attorney General's office filed notice last week with the Alaska Supreme Court asking to overturn a recent Superior Court ruling that found the legislature's effort to criminalize small amounts of cannabis to be unconstitutional.
In July, judge Patricia Collins struck down provisions of a new state law that sought to redefine minor marijuana possession as a criminal offense punishable by jail time. The ACLU filed suit to block enforcement of the law, arguing that it violated the privacy clause of the state constitution, which provides that "the right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed." The 1975 Ravin decision determined that this constitutional provision legalized the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis in the home.
Superior Court judge Patricia Collins ruled last month that the Alaska legislature lacks the authority to override the Supreme Court's 1975 decision, finding that the Ravin decision "is the law until and unless the Supreme Court takes contrary action."
* Armentano is senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in DC.
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Paul Armentano |
| About the author: |
| Paul Armentano, 28, has been writing on drug policy, film, health reform, and other issues since 1994. His writing resume includes more than 120 published articles in textbooks, academic journals, newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet. His most recent short story, "Reflections of a Hitchhiker," is featured in the collection, Where The Road Leads (Chapbooks for Learning, 1999). |
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