Movement for Legalization of Marijuana on a Personal Level.

First: I apologize for any typo's and grammatical errors. I am not stoned I am just bad at typing.

I am new to this forum but from what I've seen and read there are a significant number of intelligent people who frequent them. I am a firm believer that individuals united in one cause can make a difference but it begins on a personal level.

I personally live in Alabama where marijuana is not legal in any way. Up until recently I believed there were no lawmakers in Alabama that would even consider the idea of sponsoring a bill advocating the legalization of marijuana, medicinal or otherwise, until I read an article concerning a Representative Patricia Todd-D. She sponsored a bill in 2009 for the legalization and regulation of marijuana for medicinal purposes. After an extremely small amount of research I found more and more states with Representatives endorsing similar bills.

For recreational users these bills do seemingly little to help your bid, but they are a step in the right direction for the cause. I am encouraging anyone who takes the time to read this and support it to take a proactive stance. Detailed below are several pointers I believe will help start/strengthen your movement.

1: Find out who your districts Representatives are and, if possible, where they stand on the issue.

2: Organize with local like-minded individuals. Set up a communication network(i.e. distribute a list of phone numbers/e-mail addresses).

3: Meet with your group regularly to exchange information. I suggest bi-weekly. This type of format allows for advance planning and by association better attendance.

4: Vote! If you have Representatives who advocate marijuana's legalization in any form then support them (regardless of party affiliation). If you do not, try and find a Representative who does.

5: Research. This is imperative. It doesn't take a lot. I suggest 2-3 hours a week. Research current events pertaining to the topic, your local elections for state Representatives, and bills coming up for vote related to the subject.

6: Document your research. Bring it to all your meetings with your local group. Highlight any points you feel would help your cause and study them especially so you can speak on them with intelligence, don't throw it together on the spot. Also it is important to note and study anything detrimental to your cause. Speak on those subjects as well to find ways to thwart them before they cause harm (This is politics! All is fair game, true or not. They fight dirty then so shall we!)

7:Evangelize! Talk to anyone who is willing to listen and try to get them on-board! If you get them on-board make them feel welcome. At this point it shouldn't be hard, you have already overcome the first and hardest obstacle: common ground. Build from there.

8: Don't get discouraged! It can seem like a huge thing to do all of this. DO NOT try to tackle it all at once. Start by passing this post onto you friends for example. It may take weeks or months before you have a group that meets regularly but if you are persistent in your efforts then it will happen.

9: Lastly, DO NOT demonize your own cause! Do not refer to marijuana as a drug. It is not. It is a naturally occurring substance the same as every plant you find at your supermarket.

I will be posting regularly on this particular part of the forum to update my own progress. Please do the same. Forums are a powerful tool and through them we can unite each group on a larger, more powerful, scale.

Anyone in the central Alabama interested in meeting with me on this topic please contact me. My e-mail address is: [email protected].

Thank you for reading.

Thanks for your activism.

Anyone advicating liberty is good in my book.

Legalizing the drug at a federal level will not happen. First lets decriminalize it then after a few years the public will see that weed is not bad, THEN we can write laws to make it legal. Lets follow the amsterdam path

fitch303 said:

Legalizing the drug at a federal level will not happen. First lets decriminalize it then after a few years the public will see that weed is not bad, THEN we can write laws to make it legal. Lets follow the amsterdam path

Click to expand...

I appreciate your criticism. Legalization on a federal level is my ultimate goal but baby steps are necessary before we can walk, much less sprint. My goal now is to simply create many small movements across the nation to evangelize the cause and hopefully snowball into something bigger far down the line. What I am shooting for is what I have dubbed: "The Fight Club Effect", which simply put is multiple self sufficient cells all independent yet clearly oriented towards the same long term goal.

Also if you like and support my ideas on this movement please rate the thread so, possibly, more will read and thus be reached by the movement. Also please remember that EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS AND YOUR SUPPORT IN ANY WAY IS NOT INSIGNIFICANT BUT QUITE THE OPPOSITE. Every avalanche starts as a snowflake! : )

We all have a common interest in this fight. If we did have any type of rallies we couldn't go out there looking like a bunch of stoner hippies, the media would make a mockery of us. We have to overcome the stereotype which is pretty freaking hard with cheech and chong movies airing every other weekend.

This is true as well but no political movement is easy. I am simply asking those who truly support the cause to take initiative and become proactive. I feel that what I outlined above gives anyone willing to fight some of the simple tools necessary to begin the fight with.

1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
2 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW
3 to read as follows:
4 It is the intent of the legislature to:
5 (1) Legalize marijuana and its derivatives;
6 (2) Remove all existing civil and criminal penalties for adults
7 twenty-one years of age or older who cultivate, possess, transport,
8 sell, or use marijuana, without impacting existing laws proscribing
9 dangerous activities while under the influence of marijuana, or certain
10 conduct that exposes younger persons to marijuana;
11 (3) Raise funds and discourage substance abuse by the imposition of
12 a tax on the legal sale of marijuana, the proceeds of which will
13 support drug education and awareness; and
14 (4) Impose a set of rules and laws concerning marijuana comparable
15 to those imposed on alcohol.

I'm not sure if it has passed or not but the Bill is very progressive which is never a bad thing. Hopefully Washington can lead by example and make this successful so other states will follow their lead and realize that marijuana is not a bad thing but is an excellent economic booster on many levels. If you are interested you can view the bill via the hyperlink below.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/bil...Bills/2401.pdf

Good Luck, Washington!