by Rachel Abrons



Every month, in collaboration with the Philadelphia-based podcast Panic Hour, PhillyNORML hosts Smokedown Prohibition, which is an educational rally capped with an act of civil disobedience or the more affectionate and apro...

We had our Smoke Down Prohibition event yesterday, 12/15/2012.

Over 120 activists joined PhillyNORML and Philadelphia got a whiff of freedom at 4:20PM - no arrests or citations.

We're sorry if you missed it, but there will be more!...

“Smoke Down Prohibition” at Independence Hall

Philadelphia - Landmark victories in Colorado and Washington State have legalized marijuana for adults but prohibition continues for the rest of America. Cannabis and hemp legalization supporters will gather at Independence Hall this Saturday to call for an end to the federal war on marijuana. 

Organized by local comedy activism crew The Panic Hour “Smoke Down Prohibition” will feature speeches from local reform activi...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Global Cannabis Peace March Hits South Street May 19th at 4 pm

Philadelphia, PA – May 17, 2012 – Philly NORML’s annual marijuana march will be held on South Street this Saturday, May 19th. Participants will meet at 4:00 pm at the intersection of Broad and South Street for this one-of-a-kind demonstration march for the reform of marijuana laws.

The Global Cannabis Peace March has become an annual event in Philadelphia as well as i...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Derek Rosenzweig
PhillyNORML, Secretary
PA4MMJ, Co-Founder
Phone: 215-586-3483
Email: derek@phillynorml.org

USE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA TOPIC AT MEDICAL CENTER CONFERENCE
Noted Substance Abuse Counselor to Speak in Favor of Medical Legalization

Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania will hold its annual conference on Palliative Care in Medicine on November 3, 2011. The keynote l...

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 will be a day fondly remembered by many. It marks the very first time that US Congressmen have introduced a bill that would make marijuana completely legal under Federal law. US Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) are the primary sponsors of, the 'Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011'. This bill would remove all Federal penalties for its possession, sale, and cultivation. Ask your ...

6/15/2011 by Chris Goldstein - State Representative Mark B. Cohen has re-introduced a bill to regulate medical cannabis in the Keystone State. The legislation, HB1653, has a new name: The Governor Raymond P. Shafer Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This refers to the Republican former governor (1967-1971) and PA party leader.

In 1971 Shafer was picked by President Richard Nixon to direct ...

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ Monday, May 23, 2011, at 12:43 pm

A coalition of medical marijuana advocacy groups and patients filed suit Monday in D.C. Circuit Court to compel the Obama Administration to answer a nine-year-old petition to reclassify medical marijuana.

The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) has never received an answer to its 2002 petition, despite a formal recommendation in 2006 from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Drug Enforcement Ad...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/10/2011
www.phillynorml.org

Philadelphia Marijuana Legalization Rally and Concert May 21st on South St

CONTACT:  Chris Goldstein media@phillynorml.org

PhillyNORML’s 2011 marijuana rally expands this year with a benefit concert at the Theatre of the Living Arts on South Street. Participants will meet at 5:00PM on Saturday May 21 at the intersection of Broad and South for the demonstr...

Recently, our medical marijuana bill SB1003 was introduced into the PA Senate. Yesterday it was assigned to the Public Health and Welfare Committee, just as last session's SB1350 was previously.
 
Last time, we were never given a chance to hold a hearing or a vote in the Senate. This year, it ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/27/2011
PENNSYLVANIANS FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA
www.pa4mmj.org



A bill to legalize the use of medical marijuana for qualifying patients and to create a statewide system of “Compassion Centers” has been introduced in the Keystone State. Senator Daylin Leach brought SB 1003...

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office is calling a new set of procedures for minor pot cases a success and plans to continue with the Small Amount of Marijuana (SAM) program.

Last year the Pennsylvania Supreme Court worked with the new DA, Seth Williams, to make a pragmatic change in how the justice system deals with marijuana possession of 30 grams or less. A new program was created that includes a diversion court appearance, an education class and fees of $200. The major di...

by Mike Meno
November 24, 2010

The DEA announced today that it will temporarily classify five synthetic chemicals that mimic the effects of marijuana as Schedule 1 drugs, meaning they have no medical value, a high potential for abuse, and will be illegal to sell, purchase, or use. (Marijuana itself, as many of us are already well aware, is also classified as a Schedule 1 drug).

The move comes after more than a dozen states nationwide have passed bans on the herbal blen...

I decided to start a thread to keep a list of 2010 candidates and their positions on HB 1393 and medical marijuana, plus their positions on recreational use, industrial hemp, and other related issues. This is all I have so far, but I will try and keeping adding to it.
Gubernatorial Candidates:
Dan Onorato - Democrat - Opposes HB 1393 | Lt. Gov. Candidate H. Scott Conklin - Democrat - Supports HB 1393, Supported HB 176 Ban on Cannabinoids and Salvia
Tom Corbett - Repu...

_{Christopher Bartkowicz, 37, heads to the federal courthouse in Denver on Thursday. The Highlands Ranch man had shown his growing operation on 9News in February. ( John Prieto, The Denver Post )}

Christopher Bartkowicz walked out of a federal courtroom in handcuffs Thursday after pleading guilty to drug charges stemming from a raid on his medical-marijuana...

http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-philadelphia/philadelphia-marijuana-arrests-remain-high

Each year PhillyNORML, the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, looks at the marijuana arrest data for the city. The information comes directly from the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System.

Here are the numbers for 2009, the most recent data available:

There were 6, 402 marijuana related arrests by Philadelphia City Police in...

The opposition to California's marijuana legalization measure is veering off into paranoid and delusional terrain in the final days of the campaign, echoing some of the more bizarre anti-pot themes more common in the early part of the 20th century when the film "Reefer Madness" worked to persuade Americans of the dangers of the drug.

The no campaign's website greets visitors with a photograph of a wrecked car and an overturned school bus, presumably filled by children killed by a ston...

http://www.examiner.com/norml-in-philadelphia/pennsylvania-saw-25-635-marijuana-arrests-last-year

by Chris Goldstein 10/1/2010 - According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System there were 25, 635 adult arrests for marijuana prohi...

BY DAMIAN INWOOD, POSTMEDIA NEWS SEPTEMBER 11, 2010


SEATTLE - Vancouver's Marc Emery has gone from 'Prince of Pot' to prison pauper with a five-year...

DURHAM, N.H.- New research from the University of New Hampshire shows that the "gateway effect" of marijuana - that teenagers who use marijuana are more likely to move on to harder illicit drugs as young adults - is overblown.

Whether teenagers who smoked pot will use other illicit drugs as young adults has more to do with life factors such as employment status and stress, according to the new research. In fact, the strongest predictor of whether someone will use other illic...

The message was made clear in Pittsburgh last week when some of the nation's top medical doctors and a former narcotics officer testified in favor of Pennsylvania's medical marijuana bill, HB 1393.

Dr. Lester Grinspoon and Dr. Cyril Wecht offered the most powerful expert medical testimony on the subject heard thus far by the PA House Health and Human Services C...

8/12/2010 - The Pennsylvania House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a satellite hearing on medical marijuana in Pittsburgh, PA on August 19, 2010.

HHS Committee Chair Rep. Frank Oliver issued a memo yesterday:

Please be advised that on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health at 130 Desoto Street, Room G-23, Pittsburgh, PA 15320, there will be a public hearing on House Bill 1393.

By DAN FROSCH
DENVER - The Department of Veterans Affairs will formally allow patients treated at its hospitals and clinics to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal, a policy clarification that veterans have sought for several years.

A department directive, expected to take effect next week, resolves the conflict in veterans facilities between federal law, which outlaws marijuana, and the 14 states that allow medicinal use of the drug, effectively deferring to ...

PhillyNORML would like to extend a happy 4th of July to you and your friends and loved ones.

We hope you all remember why we're celebrating this! It's not the fireworks, the food, or the music being belted out at the Parkway... it's our Inalienable Rights to Life, Liberty, and Happiness which some fool who thought he had "divine right" believed could take away from human beings. Guess what? While not nearly as messed up as what King George did (to people they'...

by Derek Rosenzweig, Secretary of PhillyNORML

On April 5th, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced that Philadelphia county would be easing marijuana possession penalties. Those in possession of 30g (just over one ounce, or about a month's worth of cannabis for a daily smoker) or less will no longer face a criminal record or jail time for a first time offense. This poli...

On May 4th after the introduction of SB1350, I had the opportunity to chat with Rep. Cutler during lunch. He expressed interest in learning more, and then sent this email to me after he returned to his office:

On Tue, May 4, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Bryan Cutler wrote:

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me today. I have cut and pasted my list of concerns below

I will not be supporting the bill for a variety of reasons.

First, there are just as many studies that show that m...

Philadelphia NORML Examiner

Medical cannabis legislation is active in PA and residents continue to show strong support. New polling conducted by Franklin & Marshall College saw a full 80% of respondents 'Strongly Favor' (53%) and 'Somewhat Favor' (27%) legal medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. That's 80% total in support - more than any candidate for office entertains!

The poll was conducted fro...

Philadelphia NORML Examiner



On Tuesday May 4, 2010 Senator Daylin Leach introduced The Pennsylvania Compassionate Use Act. A companion bill in the House that saw committee hearing in December is still active. The Senator stood at a Capitol press conference surrounded by patients, doctors and advocates...