On 4/20, we celebrate more than a holiday. We celebrate a hard-won shift in law, culture, and conscience. We celebrate the growing recognition that adults should not be treated as criminals for the responsible use of cannabis, that patients should not be denied relief because of political timidity, and that public policy in this area should be shaped by evidence, fairness, and liberty rather than by fear, stigma, and inertia.
That recognition did not arise spontaneously. It was built — patiently, intelligently, and at considerable cost — by advocates willing to make the case for reform long before it was fashionable, profitable, or politically safe.
NORML has stood at the center of that work for more than half a century.
It is my privilege to write today as Chair of NORML’s Board of Directors, and it is a distinct privilege to do so with the support of such a talented, accomplished, and principled group of peers. I am deeply grateful to my fellow board members for their stewardship of an organization whose mission remains as urgent as ever: to ensure that adults have access to cannabis that is safe, purity-tested, and fairly regulated, and that cannabis consumers are treated with the dignity the law has too often denied them.
I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the members of the NORML Legal Committee, a distinguished national network of highly skilled and dedicated attorneys. For many years, these professionals have represented individuals facing cannabis-related charges, often under challenging circumstances and with limited public acknowledgment. Their contributions have been substantive, rigorous, and essential, providing tangible support to the principle that justice must be genuine rather than merely symbolic. It is noteworthy that numerous legal committee members are now assuming prominent positions within the fields of cannabis commercial and corporate law.
My thanks extend as well to each of NORML’s state, local, and international chapters. NORML Chapters are the organization’s living force in communities across the country and beyond: educating, organizing, lobbying, testifying, and insisting — often against long odds — that cannabis consumers, parents, workers, patients, and justice-involved individuals be treated fairly under law. Their time, energy, and ardent advocacy have helped transform this cause from a lonely dissent into one of the most successful civil-liberties movements of our time.
And on this day especially, I want to offer the fullest measure of thanks to the NORML staff, who carry this work forward day in and day out, under tight deadlines and often with far too little support from an industry that profits from the freedoms for which NORML fought and still fights.
Deputy Director Paul Armentano has, for decades, supplied this movement with intellectual ballast, bringing rigor, discipline, and an indispensable command of the science and data to the national conversation around cannabis policy.
JM Pedini, Director of Development, has helped ensure that NORML remains accountable to the people we exist to serve — not to fashion, not to corporate convenience, and not to the fleeting enthusiasms of the moment.
Morgan Fox, Policy Director, has helped keep NORML present where national policy is shaped, ensuring that this organization remains a commentator on reform and an active participant in securing it.
Together, they have navigated NORML through one of the stranger ironies of the legalization era: that as reform has advanced, support for the advocacy institutions that made that reform possible has too often waned. They have met that irony with intelligence, discipline, and resolve.
I also want to recognize Randy Quast, our Treasurer and Acting Executive Director, for his steady stewardship and sound judgment at moments when both have been urgently needed. And, of course, Keith Stroup, our founder, deserves special gratitude. Few individuals have done more to build the legal, moral, and institutional architecture of the modern cannabis reform movement. Without Keith’s vision, I dare say, there would not be a legal cannabis consumer industry as we know it today.
NORML’s work is broad, serious, and ongoing. We advocate every day for consumers, parents, workers, patients, and criminal-justice-involved individuals throughout the United States. We inform legislative debates, educate the public, support litigation, and help shape the national conversation around cannabis law and policy. NORML is regularly cited by the media and in opinion journalism. It continues to file amicus briefs in matters of constitutional significance in state and federal courts. It remains one of the most trusted and enduring public voices in cannabis law and policy anywhere in the country.
All of this work requires money. That is not an indelicate point. It is simply an honest one.
Serious advocacy requires serious institutional support. Public education requires staffing. Litigation support requires resources. Chapter coordination requires infrastructure. Legislative engagement requires time, expertise, and endurance. None of this is self-executing. None of this is free. And none of these efforts can be sustained on applause alone.
So, on this 4/20, take a moment to celebrate. Celebrate the progress. Celebrate the victories. Celebrate the fact that arguments once dismissed now command broad public support, and that legal reforms once thought remote have become real. But do not mistake progress for completion, or cultural acceptance for durable justice.
NORML continues to push for further progress toward legalization every day. Our work depends on your sustained support and resources to remain effective. The progress we celebrate today was not inevitable. Neither is the progress that remains ahead.
If you believe in this cause — and in the necessity of institutions capable of defending it with strength, credibility, and continuity — I ask you to invest in the movement that has defended cannabis consumers for more than half a century by becoming a member or making a recurring gift to NORML or The NORML Foundation today.
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