Well folks, it has been an exciting year for PhillyNORML and Pennsylvania Cannabis Law Reform efforts. We wanted to send out an email about our 2009 efforts to keep you up to date on where we are.  It's thanks to generous donations and local efforts by all of you out there that keep us moving towards our goals.

   Thanks to everyone who has come out to the general meetings, held twice monthly at the A-Space in West Philadelphia and to the A-Space for hosting the meeting location. This year we have seen a significant uptick in meeting attendance and we are continuing to build our core member group so that we can work more efficiently in our daily operations. It is these meetings where new ideas are brought to the group and from there worked on and executed by the group. Remember, all PhillyNORML efforts are 100% volunteer, as Grass-Roots as you can get and we rely on you, the membership base to help us in our efforts.
   
PhillyNORML elected a new Board of Directors to serve the organization and get things running smoothly. Casey Goldsmith is serving as Deputy Director, Derek Rosenzweig as Secretary, Chris Goldstein as Communications Director, Tim Graham as Treasurer and me, Robert Dougherty as Executive Director.  Several Board members attended the National NORML Conference in San Francisco, CA to network with other chapters and bring new ideas to the group. While we all went out on our own dime as not to cost the group any money, we were able to raise a significant amount with our t-shirt and lighter promotions while we attended.
   
This year PhillyNORML launched our brand new website at www.phillynorml.org which brings a much better interface for us to keep you more up to date on news about the group and our efforts. The site features photo galleries, videos and news about current events as well as an active online forum to interact with other members. We also got more involved in other social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, youtube and Myspace to bring the group together and keep you more up to date.

Pennsylvania as a state got a whole lot "greener" this year with local reform efforts starting up in places like Western PA and Pittsburgh. Statewide goals are now becoming a reality with these groups working together towards common ends. We thank our other statewide chapters and other reform groups for joining us in the fight and look forward to working together in 2010 and beyond.
This statewide effort led to the Introduction of Pennsylvania's First ever Medical Marijuana Legislation into the PA House of Representatives on 4/29/09. House Bill 1393, what we refer to as "The Barry Busch Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act", named for a former and now deceased member of PhillyNORML who started us on the road towards Medical Marijuana. HB 1393 has been the biggest step towards serious reform in the Commonwealth to date.
 The Bill was referred to the HHS committee which held the first in a series of Informational hearings with testimony presented by PA4MMJ/PhillyNORML, MPP and others. The pro-reform side of the debate was surely dominant which you can see for yourself online at the website or the PA4MMJ  Youtube account.( http://www.youtube.com/pa4mmj)

Due to these major milestones in reform here in the Commonwealth and the National debate on reform expanding from coast to coast, PhillyNORML has received a bunch of media coverage throughout the year.
We have been in talks with the city of Philadelphia helping them to consider changing the processing of people caught with Marijuana possession. This change would not require a custodial arrest to be made which means taking a pot smoker to the station and taking an officer off the street to take a picture of the accused. Today, anyone caught with possession of Marijuana in the city of Philadelphia must be arrested and processed; this is not the case in every other county in the Commonwealth. This change could potentially free up Millions of dollars for Law Enforcement and keep our streets safer at the same time.
   
Lastly, this year PhillyNORML participated in various ways at many events in the area including:
�   Participating in around 8 local concert events hitting such shows as the Slightly Stoopid/Snoop Dogg "Blazed and Confused Tour" , The Boston Freedom Rally, and local acts such as Agent Moosehead and others, with tabling efforts and even speaker presentations during the events. 
�   Starting a tabling effort at Philadelphia's monthly Art Exhibition in Olde City, First Friday, to generate funds for our Medical Marijuana efforts and raise awareness on the issue. 
�   We hosted Informational Seminars in several libraries around the city in a continuing effort to gain public support and awareness on the issues surrounding Cannabis law reform and our local efforts.  We also held some of these seminars and other video events at our monthly meetings.
�   We hosted a 4/20 Freedom Forum at the National Constitution center, together with Neighboring New Jersey reform organizations and others  in an excellent media and awareness event.
�   We again hosted the several Candlelight Vigils for medical Cannabis patients, along with Universal Arts and CMMNJ (The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey) at the Statehouse in Trenton, NJ and the Liberty Bell/National Constitution Center.
�   We again held the Global Cannabis March on South Street, which we host every year on the First Saturday in May, in conjunction with over 200 other locations worldwide which had a very large gathering which seems to build every year.


So, if you are now wondering, "What can I do to help"? Look no further. You can help our efforts in many ways. First, spread the word to your family and friends. Start up a conversation about Cannabis law reform to stimulate conversation with people. Find out how they feel and provide them with the resources to help, if so inclined. Contact your representatives about your feelings and expectations of them, after all they are there to serve you, the constituent. Find out if they are in support of HB1393 on our sister website at www.pa4mmj.org and if not, ask them to support it. It can only help to let them know you are a supporter and the other side is doing just the same. Support us with a donation through our website with Paypal or through supporting us at our local events and meetings. Come out to our monthly meetings, they are open to anyone and we are very welcoming. Get involved on our online forums, help us with ideas, or if you have a special talent to donate we appreciate that as well. All in all just do something because it's not what we do, it's what you do, that matters most.

I look forward to seeing some of you at our events, meetings and even online as we continue to build the reform community in Pennsylvania and beyond.  Thanks for a great 2009 and here's to a great 2010!
Cheers,
Robert Dougherty - Executive Director
On behalf of The PhillyNORML Board Of Directors
Casey Goldsmith - Deputy Director
Derek Rosenzweig - Secretary
Chris Goldstein - Communications Director
Tim Graham - Treasurer


Upcoming Events:
This Friday!  1/29/2010: PhillyNORML 2010 Kickoff Party and Benefit Fundraiser
@ The Rotunda 4014 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA  All Ages, $5   7pm - 1am;
All money goes to PhillyNORML and local reform efforts

Thursday 2/4/2010: Third Monthly Meeting of 2010
Thursday 2/18/2010: Fourth Monthly Meeting of 2010
Meetings are held on the First and Third Thursdays ; Every month ; 7:30pm
@ The A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave.  Philadelphia, Pa
Accessible from SEPTA #34 green line trolley at 47th street,  plenty of bike and car parking available