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Marijuana Reform Returns to Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - October 24, 2009 - After an absence of over thirty years, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has been reestablished in Milwaukee. Milwaukee now joins Madison in the movement for a reexamination of drug policies and their effects on Wisconsin citizens. The organization feels there is a pressing need for such reforms with marijuana arrests now making up nearly half of U.S. drug arrests (49.8%) and arrests rates being the highest in the Midwest and southern regions according to FBI data.

While marijuana reform has not obtained as much attention from the media as death panels, the President's birth certificate or adulterous politicians, the issue has remained a priority for citizens nationwide. In several online town halls organized by the Obama White House, questions about marijuana legalization have overwhelmingly received the highest number of votes. Although the responses from the White House have been tepid at best, Milwaukee Area NORML hopes to build upon this groundswell of public support.

The first of many issues the Milwaukee Area NORML plans to address is the passage of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act. The updated version of the act mirrors law placed into effect recently in Michigan, legalizing medicinal cannabis, which was passed with a 63% margin by Michigan voters in November 2008. The law gained a majority in every Michigan county. A recent addition to the Jacki Rickert MMJ Act includes treatment for those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a disorder that would be treatable with the aid of cannabis. This provision is seen as very important by many NORML members considering suicide rates among soldiers are at an all time high.

While some NORML members are driven by a personal philosophy of freedom, other members have a more personal stake in seeing real reforms passed. With conditions ranging from fibromyalgia to glaucoma to PTSD, patients are joining the effort to live with dignity by having their choice of medicine be a personal matter decided by their doctor instead of their representative.

Milwaukee Area NORML held their first official meeting, on September 8th, 2009. Meetings have continued on a biweekly basis since and have drawn in new people with each meeting. While most participants are Milwaukee residents, some Wisconsinites came from as far as Jackson to advocate for an overhaul of marijuana laws. “Its a forty-five minute drive for me to get down here,” said Teresa, a mother and an activist. “But I usually stop first because I pick up and bring along other patients that want to support the cause but don’t drive themselves. I’ll go pick them up and bring them down with me. So usually it is probably an hour.”


Contact:
Jeff Peterson
jpeterson8@wi.rr.com

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