Marijuana Activists Will Meet in Raleigh to Lobby State Lawmakers

Marijuana bills have a history in North Carolina of getting sent to committee’s where they die. While public support for marijuana reform has never been better, the Senators and Representatives in Raleigh aren’t so quick to jump on board. Our organizations focus is to raise awareness of bills and mobilize marijuana supporters to act. Since Senate Bill 58 was introduced, we have sent over 3,000 letters to the committee on “Rules and Operations of the Senate” (where S58 currently sits) from hundreds of citizens across the state in support of this bill. We have also been making daily phone calls and emails to Senator Rabon (Chairman) and Senator Brown’s (Vice-Chairman) offices.

Catawba NORML Lobby Day Registration

For the more “hands on” activist, we suggest registering for our Lobby Day. This puts you, as an activist, in the offices of our legislators to help us get this bill out of this committee and on to the next phase of its life. Even if you have no experience, but you love marijuana reform, register. We will provide you with all the training and resources necessary to be effective. There is a lobby day training session at Catawba NORML’s next public meeting on Wednesday, March 13th as well as video guidance to be sent to all attendees. The bottom line, we need activists asking these Senators every single day about this bill.

“We’re giving the citizens of North Carolina an opportunity to meet directly with legislators in Raleigh about marijuana reform, specifically Senate Bill 58”, said Matthew Maulding, “There are tens of thousands of citizens and families in North Carolina that would benefit from this bill, as well as hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of ‘new’ money that our state would benefit from. It works for everyone in North Carolina and hurts no one, other than the prison industry.”

Catawba NORML Lobby Day Registration

Senate Bill 58, introduced to the Senate on February 13th, would further decriminalize personal marijuana possession up to 3 ounces and allow citizens with prior marijuana convictions to be

able to pay a fee of $100 to get those non-violent, victimless convictions off their records, which could ultimately put more people to work.

To register, go to Catawba NORML Lobby Day Registration.

What: Catawba NORML Lobby Day, citizens lobbying for Senate Bill 58

When: April 5th, 2019 from 11am-6pm (Deadline to register is March 5th, 2019)

Where: North Carolina State Legislative Building, 16 W Jones St, Raleigh, NC 27601

For questions or interview requests, please contact Matthew Maulding at 828-455-8203 or normlofcatawbavalley@gmail.com

Marijuana policy should be evidence based. Help dispel the myths with NORML’s Fact Sheets! For more information follow NORML of Catawba Valley on Facebook and Twitter!

NORML’s mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana by adults, and to serve as an advocate for consumers to assure they have access to high quality marijuana that is safe, convenient and affordable.