NORML, Slightly Stoopid and Cypress Hill: Bring Attention to California’s Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana for November Ballot

Video Contest: NORML Teams With Slightly Stoopid & Cypress Hill For Internet Contest In Support of Proposition 19

August 9th, 2010 New York, NY – The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a Washington DC-based marijuana advocacy group, has partnered with jam-based dub rock heavyweights Slightly Stoopid and hip-hop juggernauts Cypress Hill on the Legalize It 2010 tour for a YouTube based video contest to raise awareness for California’s Prop 19, the initiative to regulate and tax marijuana. The initiative will be on the California ballot November 2nd, 2010 and its passage would be a historic step forward in the fight to end marijuana prohibition and legalize marijuana nationwide.

NORML, Slightly Stoopid, and Cypress Hill invite US residents to create 30-60 second videos of themselves answering the question, “What could California do with the revenue generated from taxing marijuana?” Participants are to upload their entries to YouTube with the tag “YesOnProp19.” Members of both bands and representatives from NORML will personally pick one grand prize winner and two runner-ups from a selection of the most viewed, rated, and commented upon videos.

Prizes include a personal phone call from B-Real, a limited edition Slightly Stoopid vaporizer, a framed autographed tour poster, a free one-year membership to NORML, plus more. Winners’ videos will be shared on all the partners’ social network profiles. For official contest rules visit here.

Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, will give local governments the ability to tax the sale of up to one ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes to adults age 21 and older. According to the Board of Equalization (BOE), California’s tax regulator, controlling and taxing marijuana in California could generate $1.4 billion in much needed revenue each year. These funds could go towards jobs, public safety, health care, parks, transportation, education and more.

According to research conducted by the California chapter of NORML, the sale of marijuana could save over $200 million in law enforcement costs, generate $12-18 billion annually from spin-off industries (similar to the CA wine industry) and create between 60,000 and 110,000 new jobs, generating $2.5 -3.5 billion in wages for workers each year. NORML also reports numerous public safety benefits such as putting drug cartels out of business and refocusing police efforts on violent crime. Says Miles from Slightly Stoopid, “I think the whole negative outlook [on pot] is silly. You can go to the store and buy as much booze as you want, and it gets taxed. I think that’s way worse than marijuana. If they passed that bill and taxed (marijuana), it would generate a lot of money for the state and help cut into the deficit faced by the state of California. If I was a politician or a judge running California, I would have passed this a long, long time ago.”

Slightly Stoopid and Cypress Hill, along with Collie Buddz are currently on a nationwide 22 date tour called Legalize It 2010. Local NORML chapters have booths set up at stops along the tour, where interested parties can learn more about their mission, the contest and how to get involved in marijuana law reform.

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NORML, also known as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, is a Washington DC based non-profit founded in 1970, serves as the oldest and largest marijuana law reform organization in the US. With 135 state and local chapters and a legal committee consisting of over 500 lawyers, the organization has a large, volunteer-based grassroots network supporting victims and activists nationwide. NORML advocates for the right of adults to consume marijuana responsibly, both for medical and recreational purposes and supports the elimination of all penalties associated with its possession or use. NORML also supports establishing a legally regulated market where consumers can buy marijuana in a safe and secure environment. NORML’s sister organization, the NORML Foundation is a not for profit 501(c)3 foundation established in 1997 to better educate the public about marijuana and marijuana policy options, and to assist victims of the current laws. NORML holds an annual national conference and two annual CLE-accredited legal seminars.

You Be The Judge! NORML’s SuperBOWL Marijuana Law Reform Ad Contest

Sure, tens of millions of Americans will be hunkering down in front of their television sets with friends and family tomorrow to ostensibly watch the Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, but as we all know the day of the Super Bowl is America’s showcase for the most expensive and often creative commercial television advertisements of the year.

That’s all fine and dandy, but how much cooler is NORML’s first ever SuperBOWL Pro-Marijuana Law Reform Ad Contest? Heh?! Forget the painfully boring and tedious eight hours of Pre-SuperBowl television programming…watch and share all of these great pro-marijuana law reform ads.

$10,000 in cash prizes and NORML swag is up for grabs for the most creative pro-marijuana law reform ad—and YOU and your friends are the judges to determine this year’s winners.

Starting in September, NORML launched our third annual ‘NORML Ad Contest’, and after culling through hundreds of submissions, NORML’s staff and members of the board of directors recently narrowed the field to the top #25 videos for consideration in our first-ever online poll that will determine the contest’s winners.

Get This Contest Dug on Digg!
Please, tell all your like-minded friends, family and co-workers about NORML’s Ad Contest and encourage them to 1) vote once for their top three choices and 2) join NORML!

Voting online for the winners will last one week and end at midnight (PST), Sunday, February 7, 2009.

There is a terrific variety of videos, artistic creativity and passion for marijuana law reform represented in these top #25 contest submissions, and I want to personally thank the hundreds of NORML supporters who submitted videos and flash animations into NORML’s ad contest for consideration.

Advice for watching and judging NORML Ad Contest Videos: Mindful that you can vote one time and only choose your top three picks for winners, my recommendations are to watch the videos a number of times this week—possibly in different states of consciousness—and then hone in on your top three video choices for NORML’s best pro-marijuana reform ads. Also, for maximum viewing pleasure, when watching YouTube-based videos, it is best that the video first load entirely before viewing is initiated.

Like last year’s winning ad, and because of the generous financial support of NORML’s members, this year’s winning ad(s) will air in selected, local television markets in the United States, including President Obama’s new neighborhood here at the end of 16th Street, in the northwest section of Washington, D.C.*

Thanks again to this year’s contestants for standing up for what is right and for the many online voters who’ll pick this year’s winning pro-marijuana ad contest video or flash animation.

*Subject to local cable providers accepting NORML’s advocacy ads

NORML’s 2008 Pro-Marijuana Law Reform Ad Contest

Get ‘Graphic’ To Express Your Outrage About Prohibition!
$10,000 in Cash Prizes!!

Washington, DC: The NORML Foundation today launched its 2008 cash contest for the best pro-marijuana public service advertisement in favor of marijuana law reform.

Today, the 20-millionth person in America was arrested on cannabis charges!

How mad and frustrated does that make you? Want to turn that frustration into a positive direction?

College and art students, graphic designers, animators, cartoonists, flash animators, filmmakers, documentary-makers, activists, NORML chapters, senior citizens, medical marijuana patients, victims of marijuana prohibition laws, concerned citizens and cannabis consumers in general—the five decade-old movement to reform marijuana laws is calling for your time and talents, and you maybe the winner of some serious holiday cash for your stash.

Contest winners’ videos and animations will be prominently featured on NORML’s popular webpages, blogs and social networks (i.e., Facebook/MySpace, etc…, with over 500,000 supporters). Also, ‘Radical’ Russ Belville of NORML’s daily podcast, the Daily Audio Stash, will interview top winners of the contest.

The winning entry will be featured in any NORML public service announcement campaign on television in 2009.

Check out last year’s contest winners here.

Get Concerned – Get Creative – Get Graphic About 20 Million Marijuana Arrests!