NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) is a non-profit, public-interest group that has provided a voice for those Americans who believe marijuana should not be illegal. It represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly and believe the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana should no longer be a crime.
The group first supports decriminalization, the removal of all criminal penalties for private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults. This also includes the cultivation for personal use, and nonprofit transfers of small amounts. The organization additionally supports legalization, the development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could purchase it from a safe, legal, and regulated source.
NORML lobbies Congress and state legislatures for more rational and cost-effective marijuana policies. It provides expert witnesses for hearings in support of marijuana reform legislation; it also provides testimony to assist defendants charged with marijuana offenses.
English: NORML members protest in Lafayette Park d...
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I saw this bus in the main street of Kaitaia (Nort...The organization also supports the legalization of hemp, a cannabis derivative with no psychoactive ingredients. Hemp can be used to make clothes, food, paper, and much more. Hemp was outlawed when the DEA decided to consider marijuana a Class 1 Narcotic, putting it in the same class as heroine.
I believe the war on drugs is an incredible waste of government resources. NORML seems to be the only public interest organization that has realized this. While 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning and more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking, the government still refuses to lift the ban on this relatively harmless plant.