Students Form Chapter of NORML — Second in Vermont

By Hailee Laidman

Prohibition How do you get a lot of people to attend a meeting at Johnson State College? Sending out an open invitation to attend the first meeting of the Johnson State College chapter of NORML is one way.

On Thursday, Dec. 6, 55 people gathered, ask questions, and shared opinions about the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana in Vermont and throughout the country.

The meeting is the result of a decision by four JSC students to start a chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws at JSC.

The new chapter of NORML features Frank Stellato as president, Matt Zimmerman as vice president, Zack Boykins as treasurer, and Sophia Berard as secretary.

Professor of Humanites Eugene Sapadin is the club’s advisor. The organization’s primary focuses, nationally and internationally, are the decriminalization and/or legalization of marijuana.

“Legalization entails the government actually being able to tax, sell, and regulate marijuana,” says Stellato. “Decriminalization means removing all criminal penalties from it.”

Founded in 1970, NORML is the oldest and largest national organization for the reform of marijuana laws. NORML’s board of directors includes physicians, researchers, scientific authorities, political activists and criminal defense attorneys. NORML pushes for recreational use of marijuana, medical use, and for the growth of industrial hemp ? all the while working towards the big-picture issues of legalization and decriminalization.

“I’ve been following NORML for a while and I’m just now starting to do something with it,” says Stellato. “There is a chapter in Grande Isle, which I believe to be the only other NORML chapter in Vermont.”

For Stellato, this new chapter represents a chance to engage political activism around a narrow, focused issue. “We decided to start one at JSC because... the group will give kids a chance to be politically active with it and speak their minds,” he said. “This state has a chance of something big happening. It is one of the top three states that have the highest chances of legalization, according to NORML.”

The key to change, says Stellato, is an organized, grassroots effort. “These types of changes, for the most part, happen at the local level. If we can get something to happen locally, it can spread across the state,” he says. “That’s why there are so many small chapters. At the Johnson level, the hope is that hosting events and having people come to speak and showing movies to show issues around marijuana prohibition will spark interest.”

Like many members of NORML, Stellato feels the current system is both unfair and ineffective and that any sane approach to marijuana use in the United States will require radical changes. “The current laws surrounding marijuana are unjust. They are really immoral,” Stellato says. “Every year there are thousands of Americans that get busted with marijuana. If a college student gets busted, then they risk losing their federal financial aid. Once you have something like this on your record, it’s hard to get a job. It’s an issue of education. For the most part, America isn’t truly educated on the issues surrounding marijuana. All the anti-marijuana propaganda began in the 1920s and made it so marijuana was criminalized based on untrue information. Instead of educating, most media are miseducating the public.”

Stellato notes some progress regarding marijuana laws in Vermont, specifically the state’s comparatively liberal policies regarding medicinal use, which he contrasts with California: “This [state policy] has helped keep it from being a mess like California…Decriminalization is not really happening there, not in reality, not in practice.”

Stellato feels that prohibition of marijuana is also ineffective, and that the “forbidden fruit” aura surrounding it actually encourages use. “If you take away all the criminal aspects of using marijuana, it takes away from a lot of the cool factor which in turn, makes marijuana less desirable to adolescents,” he says. “Instead of teaching kids about marijuana and its effects, most programs just advocate against it and simply tell kids not to do it. This approach doesn’t work. Kids are not really open to that kind of education. They aren’t going to heed that kind of warning. If you can tell them the actual risks involved in using marijuana, education can take place. Keeping marijuana out of the hands of children is important because if you are using when your brain isn’t fully developed, there are some serious risks involved. Legalization allows you to properly educate, something we can’t currently do because of the country’s stance on it.”

The club is open to anyone interested, and does not have any particular political stance. Although most everyone at Thursday’s meeting seemed to be interested in the legalization of marijuana, some had their doubts about the organization. “This sounds like it is a pro-capitalist organization,” said one woman.

“There is something to be said for the underground economy,” said another attendee.

Industrial hemp and recreational use, two components largely considered by the NORML organization, were also discussed. “The cultivation of personal amounts would make it harder to tax,” said one person attending the meeting.

“I’m going to be part of the national organization of NORML, and I’ve followed it for a while,” said JSC student John Freeburn. “NORML at Johnson State College will bring awareness about national NORML. It’s something to unite people for the cause, without being underground. NORML gives people a chance to have an open forum about marijuana without risking breaking the law.”

The Johnson State College NORML chapter plans to be a part of the Global Marijuana March on May 3 in Burlington, Vt. This march takes place each year in cities across the country.

The chapter has planned an April 20 fund-raising event featuring an educational documentary on marijuana and a bake sale. This will be the second fund raising event for the new club, the first having been held in Stearns on Monday, Dec. 10.

To learn more about NORML on the national level, visit www.norml.org. To get more information on the Johnson State College chapter of NORML, contact representatives at Jscnorml@gmail.com. The chapter also has a group on Facebook.

Inside This Issue

Students Form Chapter of NORML — Second in Vermont

Title