The issue of the legalization and regulation of marijuana has consistently been in the news over the last few years in North America with some major developments occurring. Marijuana is currently legal in Oregon, Alaska, DC, Colorado and Washington with California most probably soon to follow. Polls have consistently shown that the majority of Americans favoring legalization and it has contributed to a wider debate around our current drug laws.
One organization that has been tirelessly working on this issue is the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, better known as NORML. With current developments gaining speed in the United States, I recently chatted with NORML founder Keith Stroup on what NORML does and what role lawyers play in the organization. Here is that conversation.
Progressive Lawyer: Please introduce yourself and describe your role in NORML.
Keith Stroup: I am a 70-year old attorney who first smoked marijuana when I was a freshman at Georgetown Law School in 1965, and I have been a regular smoker since that time. In late 1970 I founded NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, a lobby for responsible marijuana smokers, with the goal of ending the criminal prohibition of marijuana and stopping the arrest of marijuana smokers.
I currently serve as Legal Counsel for NORML and the NORML Foundation.
PL: Why was your organization started? What issues does it confront?
KS: My decision to start NORML was based on my experience, right out of law school, working for the National Commission on Product Safety. During the two years that commission was in existence, I had the privilege of working around consumer-advocate Ralph Nader and the young attorneys working with him, known generally as the “Nader’s Raiders.” That experience introduced me to the concept of public-interest law, in which one uses their legal training to try to impact public policy, rather than representing individual clients.
But my real interest by then was legalizing marijuana, not product safety, so once the Product Safety Commission ended; I elected to establish a public-interest organization to represent the interests of marijuana smokers.
Over the last 44 years, we have lobbied state and federal legislators to adopt more reasonable marijuana policies; attempted to educate the public about the relative harmlessness of marijuana; provided a professional voice in the media to counter the “reefer madness” mentality that had been fostered by the government for many decades; and attempted to provide support and assistance to those victims of the current laws.
PL: There has been a lot of change in Marijuana laws since NORML was started, with decriminalization in a number of states. Do you feel that NORML has been influential in helping implement these legal changes?
KS: NORML has been the primary advocate for change for 44 years, and has been the organization most responsible for the favorable changes in marijuana policy. When we began this work, only 12% of the public supported marijuana legalization. Today, 58% of the public support our position, including a majority of the non-smoking public. We have finally won the hearts and minds of a majority of the American public, without which we could never legalize marijuana, since only 14% of the public are marijuana smokers; 86% are not.
NORML has a network of state affiliates all across the country that serve as the voice for legalization on the state and local level, and who lobby state legislatures for reform.
PL: What services does your organization offer? Who are its primary clients/audience?
KS: Our audience is comprised of elected officials at both the state and federal level; the general public, whose support is absolutely crucial for our continued success; the media, state and national, who play a major role in shaping public opinion on this issue; and marijuana smokers, who have the political power to help shape their own destiny, and who need to be continually educated about the latest and most effective arguments to advance the issue.
NORML is a consumer lobby; that is, we represent the interests of marijuana smokers. And marijuana consumers generally want the same things consumers want in other areas. We want a product that is high quality, safe and affordable.
The first of these – the demand for a high quality product – is generally being met by the market place, even in states where marijuana remains illegal. The marijuana grown in America today is the best marijuana in the world.
To be certain that the marijuana we are smoking is safe, it needs to be tested to assure that it contains no pesticides or molds. This is generally happening in CO and WA, although we will need to adopt some certification for the testing labs, to assure the results are accurate and reliable. Consumers in legal states need to demand that the marijuana be tested before buying it.
PL: How do you utilize the law to further your organizational goals?
KS: NORML has a Legal Committee consisting of roughly 600 criminal defense attorneys throughout the country who specialize in defending individuals who have been charged with marijuana-related crimes. The NORML Legal Committee also files amicus curiae briefs in appropriate cases involving issues that arise on appeal, and that have an impact on marijuana smokers generally. Issues such as DUID and the need to show impairment while driving, not simply that the individual has THC in their system; job discrimination because of off-job marijuana smoking; child custody issues for parents who smoke marijuana responsibly.
We have also filed a number of suits over the years challenging the constitutionality of the marijuana laws, although, with the exception of Alaska, the courts have been unwilling to overrule anti-marijuana laws. We have also filed three different suits over the years attempting to force the federal government to reclassify marijuana federally so it could be prescribed by physicians for seriously ill patients, but again, those efforts have all been unsuccessful to date. (See more about the legal issues that NORML confronts here. Ed)
And when an exceptionally shocking case comes to our attention, we can generally identify an attorney in that state to step-up and represent the individual, on a pro-bono basis.
PL: What role do legal professionals play in your organization?
KS: See answer above.
PL: Do you offer any internships or volunteer opportunities?
KS: Most of our state affiliates are all-volunteer organization, and they depend on the commitment and energy of those volunteers to mount their educational and lobbying activities. At the national level, we have a paid staff, but we also utilize student interns, some legal interns and some undergraduates, to supplement the work of the professional staff.
PL: How would a legal professional pursue a career with your organization? What advice would you give to a law student or legal professional who would be interested in this type of law? What would you call this kind of law?
KS: Unfortunately there are only a limited number of paid positions available wither with NORML or with other allied organizations, such as SSDP, MPP and DPA. So it is a challenge for young graduates to find a slot that allows them to work on this issue as a paying job.
I frequently hear from students who wish to work professionally on the legalization issue, and I encourage them to get a law degree and then attempt to find a job as a public-interest attorney. These jobs certainly do not pay as well as more traditional legal jobs, but the personal satisfaction is enormous and well worth the trade-off. At the end of the day, most of us will find far more personal satisfaction from the good we accomplish, than from the financial success we might achieve. Public-interest law provides that personal satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
One of the reasons I decided to write a book about the history of NORML, and our roots as a consumer lobby, was because I am getting to be an old man, and wanted to be sure the younger activists both within and without the organization appreciate NORML’s unique role in the legalization movement, when I am no longer here to help guide the organization. “It’s NORML To Smoke Pot“, published by High Times Press and available on the NORML web site in soft-cover and from Apple electronically (for $4.20, appropriately) gave me the chance to recount the highlights of the last 40-plus years, to share some war stories, and to talk a little about Willie Nelson, Hunter S. Thompson, Woody Harrelson, Ramsey Clark, High Times founder High Tom Forcade, Rick Steves, Lester Grinspoon and several other interesting characters we have worked with over these decades.
PL: How do you balance your work life with your private life?
KS: My work with NORML has always been something I feel passionate about, and it certainly does play a key role in my life, and my sense of myself. But I am also married, I have an adult daughter and two lovely grandsons, and I am aware that family and friends are also a crucial part of everyone’s life. So I make a special effort to spend some private time each week in which I try to ignore my email and phone calls for a day or so, and focus on family and home.
As important as the legalization of marijuana may be, work does not get one through difficult times or crises in life, which everyone experiences; only a loving family and friend can do that.
PL: Outside of your organization, what issues are you particularly passionate about?
KS: I grew-up during the civil rights movement, and became an adult during the time of the anti-Vietnam War protests, both of which helped shape my life and my values, and those values remain with me to this day. In fact, I have always felt the work we do at NORML is only incidental about marijuana; it is really about personal freedom. The government has no business coming into our homes to see what books we read, what music we listen to, how we conduct ourselves in the privacy of the bedroom, or whether we smoke marijuana or drink alcohol when we relax in the evening. Personal freedom is my ultimate passion.
PL: What do you think the role of law and lawyers should be in society?
KS: Lawyers are, by definition, a privileged class. We have had the good fortune of a good education, and we should all recognize a responsibility to give-back to society. This can take the form of a public-interest profession, or of volunteer work to help the poor or others less fortunate than us. Most lawyers I know feel this obligation and devote a certain percentage of their time to pro-bono work.
You can find more information on NORML and its Canadian sister organization here and here.
A big thank you to Keith for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak to me about his long career of civil rights work!
This concludes our features for this year. Have a safe and happy holiday and see you in 2015!