Group aims to create NORML organization

Published on February 3, 2009 by Raquel Barnett

As of Jan. 29, Ryan Schorr, a senior and Communication major, has attained the 15 signatures needed in order to begin the creation of a new student organization at KSU: the controversial NORML organization.

NORML stands for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. According to norml.org, “NORML is a non-profit, public-interest lobby that for more than 30 years has provided a voice for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition. We represent 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.”

Schorr had known about NORML for a while and wanted to start a chapter at KSU because currently there are no chapters of NORML in the metro Atlanta area. Schorr also added, “I feel strongly about cannabis law reform because I disagree with the amount of money being spent on the incarceration of our citizens for drug offenses, as well as the seemingly unnecessary restriction on personal freedom it imposes.”

If NORML is given the green light at KSU, Schorr hopes to accomplish raising awareness and bringing about what he thinks will be positive change in Georgia. This includes undercutting the black market for cannabis to keep potential cannabis users away from those who push harder drugs, reducing unnecessary government spending on imprisoning otherwise law-abiding citizens and overcrowding our jails and allowing our law enforcement officials the ability to focus their attention and resources on violent or dangerous crimes. 

According to Schorr, his primary goal for this organization will be to attempt to have a ballot measure included during the next statewide election that allows the citizens the right to vote for or against the decriminalization of cannabis in Georgia.  Even though they will mostly be concentrating on the state of Georgia, Schorr says, “We will need to align ourselves with the views and goals of the national headquarters as much as possible.  After all, the ultimate goal is to sway the opinion of federal lawmakers, and that goal won’t be achieved without the consolidated efforts of all 168 chapters of NORML nationwide.”

Jenni Weegar, a freshman at KSU, voiced her opinion on the legalization of marijuana and NORML by saying, “ I think they should legalize marijuana because they can make a lot of money from it and it causes no more harm to people than drinking. I think NORML is a good idea and they should do it.”

Even though they have the signatures, this organization is not official yet. They still need to find a faculty member who is willing to serve as an advisor for the group. After this step, they will make a case to the Student Life Office in the form of a five to ten minute speech justifying why the group will be beneficial to the students of the school. Schorr wants to stress that this is not a group intending to encourage marijuana use but one that aims to allow responsible adults the right to choose if they want to use it. 

In President Obama’s most recent “Citizen’s Briefing Book,” users submitted ideas and voted for or against them. The number one ranked idea is “Ending Marijuana Prohibition.” To see the results, go to http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/ideaList.apexp?c=09a800000004fo6&lsi=2.

For more information on NORML and its cause, visit http://www.norml.org. Those interested in joining the organization at KSU can email normlatksu@gmail.com.

Responses to "Group aims to create NORML organization"

  • Tony Maddox made a comment on February 6, 2009:

    Mr. Schorr garnered 15 signatures for his stoner club? Now that’s an impressive number for a school of over 20,000! Hopefully it is a telling number, one that proves conclusively that the majority of students are perfectly happy being clear-headed and aware of their surroundings.

    We all know that potheads ‘generally’ do not cause near the accidents that drunk drivers do, but they are still impaired. I do not want either of them behind the wheel while I’m on the road. Stoners do not possess high ideals or lofty goals. They smoke to distort their present while systematically dismantling their future. I would not hire a stoner and would fire one the minute I determined they were.

    Sure, it takes alot of money to fight the drug wars, but that’s because we have so many stupid enablers in this country. Up from our southern borders come illegal aliens with their drugs in tow to supply the users. Both deserve eradication. There is a way to fight the drugs: GROW UP!!

  • Patrick Drennan made a comment on February 9, 2009:

    Tony,

    Your irrational generalizations truly do make me sad. I hope one day your eyes are opened and you’ll be able to try and educate yourself before you go making statements that make you look close-minded and foolish.

  • Matthew Cole made a comment on February 9, 2009:

    NORML isn’t a “stoners club”. It’s an organization advocating a more sensible marijuana policy. One does not have to participate in an activity in order to advocate for its legalization.

    As for the difficulty in acquiring 15 signatures, this is not a problem unique to Mr. Schorr. Other RSOs have had similar problems in the past. This is not to say that the ideas advocated by these RSOs are unpopular with students, but it comes down to a collective action problem.

  • Sarah McEntire made a comment on February 13, 2009:

    I agree with you Matthew. Marijuana prohibition doesn’t make sense because, like any other drug, people are going to do it if they want to. Legalizing marijuana would save this country untold amounts of money as we wouldn’t have to pay to send Americans to jails and prisons for committing this non-violent crime. People should be responsible whenever they drive, whether they drink, take prescribed medications, and yes, smoke marijuana. NORML doesn’t suggest that marijuana should not be excluded from laws on driving under the influence. If people want to partake in an activity that is clinically proven to be less harmful than drinking then let them! People who are afraid of marijuana legalization simply think marijuana is wrong BECAUSE its illegal, not because it is a debilitating and dangerous drug…because it’s not. And Tony, are you so simple-minded to honestly suggest that people who smoke marijuana have no goals in life! Michael Phelps just kicked the butts of the worlds’ best swimmers and…yes, he smokes pot. Maybe you should take a toke and enlighten your mind.

  • Tony Maddox made a comment on February 19, 2009:

    Patrick, educate myself? I have already received one degree from KSU, and working on a Masters. I did, and am now doing, all without the ‘help’ of pot. Having been around in the 60’s and 70′ when pot use was at it’s zenith, I can assure your little punk ass I have forgotten more than you’ll ever know about pot… and all without partaking. That part of my post about growing up.. that was for YOU, Patty.

  • Sam made a comment on November 23, 2009:

    Tony,

    Richard Feynman, Freeman Dyson, George W. Bush, Bill, Clinton, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps all made the personal choice to use pot. The outdated image of pot smokers as unemployed, lazy, slackers is more accurately represented by the inclusion of countless doctors, lawyers, politicians, actors, professors, scholars, engineers, and every day people, people who are hurting no one through their choice of drug use.

    With this in mind, maybe you can understand that the point of NORML isn’t a getting high club. NORML is a organization participated in by stoner and non-stoners alike, who together feel that possessing 1 joint shouldn’t be punished by 1 year in prison and a $1000 fine (this is the law in Maryland).

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