Cannabis Activists and Organizations
Ever since cannabis became illegal, people have been trying to get it legal again. Here are just a few of the individuals and organizations who’ve led the fight to do the right thing—legalize it!
Individuals
TOM FORCADE (1945–1978)
Founder of High Times magazine in 1974, Tom’s influence carries on decades after his passing. His magazine remains the largest and most recognizable pro-marijuana magazine in the world, and celebrated its 38th anniversary in 2012. High Times remains devoted to promoting both the joy and the legalization of marijuana, and its positive influence on the forward progress of marijuana cannot be understated.
AARON HOUSTON
Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Aaron is a nationally recognized expert on drug policy and marijuana law, and played a key role in persuading the Department of Justice to formally issue written guidelines on medical marijuana in October 2009. Houston’s work on Capitol Hill was chronicled in a 2007 Showtime documentary, In Pot We Trust. He was named a “Rising Star of Politics” by Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine in 2008.
STEVE KUBBY
Libertarian and marijuana activist and author, Steve took his fight against cancer public in order to comprehensively show how marijuana was a large part of his management and recovery. He has authored two books on drug-policy reform—The Politics of Consciousness and Why Marijuana Should Be Legal (along with Ed Rosenthal). Kubby wrote California Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, concerning the use of medical marijuana. The proposition was enacted into law on November 5, 1996.
BILL MAHER
Stand-up comedian, television host, and political commentator, Bill is a member of the advisory boards for both NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project. He has been a longtime outspoken advocate of the legalization of marijuana, especially on his HBO television show, Real Time with Bill Maher.
Country music superstar and co-chair of the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Willie is a well-known, lifelong marijuana user and activist. In 2005 Nelson played in a benefit golf tournament for NORML, to raise awareness about marijuana. Nelson founded the TeaPot Party for marijuana legalization in 2010 after being arrested for marijuana possession; the party’s motto: “Tax It, Regulate It, and Legalize It!”
ED ROSENTHAL
Founder of Quick Trading Company—which publishes books on the cultivation, lifestyle, and legalization of marijuana (many written by Rosenthal himself, including Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, with Steve Kubby)—Ed is a longtime outspoken activist, horticulturist, author, and policy developer for medical marijuana. He was a columnist for High Times through the ’80s and ’90s, and has gone through several high-profile federal court cases. He twice beat federal drug convictions (on appeal) for growing medical marijuana in Oakland, California, partly because the judge withheld from jurors the fact that Rosenthal was acting in compliance with Oakland law.
STEPH SHERER
In 2002, Steph established Americans for Safe Access “with the purpose of building a strong grassroots movement to protect patients and their rights to safe and legal access” to medical marijuana. Sherer is herself a medical marijuana patient, and has lectured on the widespread legalization of medical marijuana at the University California at Berkeley and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She was awarded the San Diego Peacemaker of the Year award in 2003.
KEITH STROUP
Attorney and founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Stroup founded the seminal nonprofit group in 1970 using $5,000 from the Playboy Foundation, and served as executive director until 1979. He recently published the book, It’s NORML to Smoke Pot: The 40 Year Fight for Marijuana Smokers’ Rights, which details the history of NORML’s forty-year fight for legal marijuana policy.
Dr. Tod Mikuriya in 2003, a supporter of medical marijuana (Note: he died in 2007)
AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION
Established in 1999 in Fort Bragg, California, by Steve Kubby, Ed Rosenthal, and Tod H. Mikuriya, AMMA is at the forefront of the battle to protect the rights of medical cannabis patients. The volunteer group recently received official recognition by the United States government as one of the top organizational websites promoting medical marijuana law reform.
AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS
Established in 2002 in Oakland, California, by Steph Sherer, ASA is a grassroots movement that works to protect patients’ rights to safe and legal access to medical marijuana. ASA is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists, and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research, with the immediate goal of helping patients and their providers, and the long-term goal of comprehensive medical marijuana legality.
HIGH TIMES MAGAZINE
Established in 1974 in New York City, New York, by Tom Forcade, High Times was originally meant as a joke, but soon found a broad audience. Published monthly, the magazine is devoted to the pleasures of marijuana, as well as promoting legalization. It is the largest marijuana-themed magazine in the world, and sponsors many popular marijuana-related events, including The High Times Cannabis Cup, The High Times Medical Cannabis Cup, The High Times Stony Awards, The High Times World Stoner Games, and The High Times Doobie Awards, just to name a few.
MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT (MPP)
Established in 1995 in Washington, D.C., by Rob Kampia, Chuck Thomas, and Mike Kirshner, MPP is now the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States, based on the size of its budget, membership, and staff. MPP’s goal is to work through the political system in order to make marijuana a legally regulated entity, similar to alcohol, and to ensure individuals who use it for medical purposes can obtain and use it safely without fear of arrest. It has spearheaded ballot initiatives and lobbying efforts in states across the country, and it has been responsible for changing most state-level marijuana laws since 2000.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS (NORML)
Established in 1970 in Washington, D.C., by Keith Stroup, and funded by $5,000 from the Playboy Foundation. NORML’s main goal is to educate the public in order to achieve a political consensus to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the United States so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to legal penalty and social stigma. NORML is one of the largest and most famous activist groups in the USA, with a grassroots network of 135 chapters and over 550 lawyers.
STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY
Established in 1998 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of students at the Rochester Institute of Technology and George Washington University, SSDP is now an international non-profit advocacy and education organization with offices in Washington D.C. and Mexico City. SSDP has chapter networks in universities, colleges, and high schools around the world that organize student and teacher activism to promote sensible change in attitudes toward marijuana policy and education, with a focus on fighting the government’s counterproductive “War on Drugs.”
