NORML E-Zine 4/17

[ReformMaryJaneLaws]

NORML E-Zine
Volume 4
Issue 17
April 17, 2001

The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news
items regarding
marijuana policy. Text of archived stories
are available on NORML's website
at: http://www.norml.org/news/archives/index2001.shtml

Political Officials, Leaders to Call for an End to Marijuana
Prohibition
at "4/20" NORML Conference

Three-Day Forum Will Be Broadcast Live on Internet

Washington DC: Governor Gary Johnson (R-NM) will join
Congressman Barney
Frank (D-MA), ACLU Executive Director Ira
Glasser, San Francisco District
Attorney Terence Hallinan and
other distinguished guests this week at the
annual conference
of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws
(NORML). Speakers will call on federal officials to end the
war
on marijuana smokers, and stop arresting patients and
others who use marijuana
responsibly.

"Marijuana-law reform is a mainstream issue that enjoys growing
public
support, as is evident by the contingent of prominent
elected officials
appearing at this year's conference,"
announced NORML Executive Director
R. Keith Stroup, Esq.
"Millions of responsible Americans smoke marijuana,
and they
should no longer be arrested or treated like criminals."

The three-day convention starts Thursday, April 19, and will
be broadcast
live on the Internet at: www.norml.org. Ira
Glasser will deliver the keynote
address Thursday morning,
followed by a special luncheon speech by Gov.
Johnson.
Congressman Frank will speak at noon on Saturday. NORML
scheduled
this year's conference to coincide with "4/20,"
the date that has become
synonymous in the popular culture
with the celebration of personal freedom
by marijuana smokers.

Other panel discussions will include: racial discrimination
in drug law
enforcement, international developments in
marijuana-law reform, an examination
of how media coverage
shapes drug policy, and an evaluation of the 107th
Congress
and the prospects for federal marijuana-law reform. Social
events
include an opening night silent auction and special
awards presentation,
as well as a NORML benefit party on
Friday night.


FEATURED SPEAKERS

Gary Johnson is the twice-elected Republican governor of
New Mexico, and
is one of the nation's leading advocates for
ending the drug war and legalizing
marijuana. He is one of
America's highest ranking public officials to
speak out
against the war on drugs.

Rep. Barney Frank is serving his
11th term in Congress. He
is a leading drug-law reform advocate and is
the lead sponsor
of federal legislation to legalize medical marijuana.

Ira Glasser heads the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
where he has
served as Executive Director for the past 23
years. He has testified frequently
before Congress in support
of amending federal drug laws. He will be retiring
later this
year.

Terence Hallinan is the District Attorney for San Francisco.
He was the
only state prosecutor to publicly support California's
Proposition 215 in 1996, which legalized the use of medical
marijuana.
Last year, he was the only state prosecutor to back
Proposition 36, the
Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act,
which eliminated jail time for
non-violent drug offenders.

Ethan Nadelmann is the Executive Director of The Lindesmith
Center-Drug
Policy Foundation. He is one of the chief
strategists behind the statewide
drug-law reform initiative
effort, and one of the most respected critics
of U.S. drug
policy.

Dr. Lester Grinspoon is a professor (Emeritus) at Harvard
Medical School
and one of the world's leading experts on
the medical value of marijuana.
He is the author of Marihuana
Reconsidered and Marihuana, the Forbidden
Medicine.

Dr. John P. Morgan is a professor of pharmacology at the City
University
of New York Medical School, and is co-author of
the book Marijuana Myths,
Marijuana Facts: A Review of the
Scientific Evidence. He was an invited
speaker at Minnesota's
first ever state-sponsored medical marijuana conference,
held
earlier this month.

Marsha Rosenbaum is the director of The Lindesmith Center-Drug
Policy Foundation
West and co-author of Pregnant Women on Drugs:
Combating Stereotypes and
Stigma. She is a frequent speaker
on the subject of harm reduction strategies
for teenagers.

For further information, please contact NORML's Director of
Communications
Nicholas Thimmesch at (202) 483-5500 (office)
or (703) 863-8008 (cell)
or by e-mail at: normlmedia@msn.com.
Registration information is available
online at: http://www.norml.org/calendar/conf2001intro.shtml.


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Support NORML's efforts to change marijuana policy and educate
the public
to alternatives to marijuana prohibition. You can
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at:
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[ April 18, 2001: Message edited by: Reform MaryJane Laws ]