Profiles in Cannabis: Rob Van Dam

NORML is proud to confirm that former World Wrestling Entertainment heavyweight champion Rob Van Dam will be speaking at the 2009 NORML National Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Rob Van Dam has amazed audiences around the world with his athleticism and martial arts skills. Throughout his wrestling career, Rob Van Dam rarely hesitated to voice his affection for cannabis — even coining the popular catch-phrase, “4:20 means I just smoked your ass.” In 2006 he reached the pinnacle of his profession, winning the WWE world heavyweight championship.

He was eventually stripped of the title later that year following his arrest for minor marijuana possession.  Since leaving pro wrestling he has appeared in numerous television shows and action films, as well as hosting his own online series RVD TV.  Rob Van Dam is open about his marijuana use and the need to reform America’s cannabis laws, frequently discussing the issue on his live radio show.

“Our federal government prohibited this organic plant based on lies, continues to classify it among the most dangerous drugs to validate billions in funding pointless agendas, and denies it’s medical value, causing countless lives to suffer needlessly,” he says.  “How can anyone not care?”

Rob will be participating an all-star panel discussion at this year’s conference pertaining to the use of cannabis among top athletes.  Says Rob: “How about we stop ignoring the fact that World Champion athletes who take their health extremely seriously sometimes choose to use marijuana? Why are we ignoring the message there?”

RVD says, “Yes we cannabis” and so should you! Meet Rob and hundreds of other like-minded people at NORML’s 38th annual conference, taking place September 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Francisco. For registration information, please visit: http://www.norml.org/conference.

More about Rob Van Dam:

Watch Rob Van Dam discuss marijuana legalization on Geraldo at Large (Fox News)

Listen to Rob Van Dam debate former Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey on MSNBC here

Rob Van Dam in High Times magazine (March 1999)

Profiles in Cannabis: Rick Steves

NORML is proud to confirm that best-selling author and television personality Rick Steves will be speaking at the 2009 NORML National Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Mr. Steves is the host of the popular public television series, “Rick Steves’ Europe,” and author of over 30 European travel books.  For more than 30 years, he has helped American travelers connect more intimately with Europeans — often for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.

Since joining NORML’s Advisory Board, Rick has been an outspoken advocate for marijuana law reform.  He hosted the recent television program Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation, and has spent countless hours lobbying politicians in his home state of Washington (and elsewhere) about the need to stop arresting responsible adults who consume marijuana.

“Like most of Europe, I believe marijuana is a soft drug (like alcohol and tobacco), not a hard drug,” he says.

“Like alcohol and tobacco, it should be treated as a health rather than a criminal issue. Crime should only enter the equation if it is abused to the point where innocent people are harmed.”

He adds: “As a parent helping two children navigate their teen years, and as a travel writer who has seen firsthand how Europe deals with its drug problem, I’ve thought a lot about U.S. drug policy — particularly our criminalization of marijuana.  … The time has come to have an honest discussion about our marijuana laws and their effectiveness. We need to find a policy that is neither ‘hard on drugs’ nor ‘soft on drugs’ — but smart on drugs.”

Rick says, “Yes we cannabis” and so should you! Meet Rick and hundreds of other like-minded people at NORML’s 38th annual conference, taking place September 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown San Francisco. For registration information, please visit: http://www.norml.org/conference.

More about Rick Steves:

New York Times: Fresh Ideas for a Tired Crusade

Seattle Post Intelligencer: We need to get smart about marijuana

Listen to Rick Steves deliver the keynote speech at NORML’s 2005 national conference

Listen to Rick Steves interviews on the NORML Daily Audio Stash here and here and read more Rick Steves posts on the Stash Blog.

Profiles in Cannabis: Jessica Peck Corry

NORML is proud to confirm that Jessica Peck Corry will be speaking at the 2009 NORML National Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Ms. Corry is a Denver-based public policy analyst and political strategist, specializing in civil rights issues. In 2008, Jessica was highlighted as one of Colorado’s most influential women by the Denver Examiner; in 2007, she was named one of Colorado’s top political “Movers and Shakers” by the Colorado Statesman. She regularly appears on Denver TV and radio for her policy expertise and her blog, “The Corry Story,” is published by The Denver Post’s PoliticsWest.com.

Jessica is a former GOP candidate for the Colorado state senate, where despite being outspent more than four-to-one, she garnered nearly 47 percent of the vote against a two-term incumbent. She began her career as a press secretary in the United States Senate, working for U.S. Senators Fred Thompson (R-TN) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and for the U.S. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

Ms. Corry is the proud parent of two young daughters, and is an outspoken critic of cannabis prohibition ­ in particular, its adverse effects on children. “It costs $30,000 a year to incarcerate a pot dealer,” she says, “and we spend $10,000 a year to educate a child.”

Jessica says, “Yes we cannabis” and so should you! Meet Jessica and hundreds of other like-minded people at NORML’s 38th annual conference, taking place September 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Francisco. For registration information, please visit: http://www.norml.org/conference.

More about Jessica:

Colorado Daily: Republican Moms Hold the Keys to Marijuana Legalization

Mom’s Logic: Pot Parents: Smoking’s Better Than Drinking

NORML Daily Audio Stash interview: “Let me be the parent to my children”

Profiles in Cannabis: Norm Stamper

NORML is proud to confirm that Norm Stamper will be speaking at the 2009 NORML National Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Mr. Stamper was a police officer for 34 years, the first 28 in San Diego, the last six (1994-2000) as Seattle’s Chief of Police. He has a doctorate in Leadership and Human Behavior, and is the author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing (Nation Books, 2005). He is an advisory board member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and is a frequently featured critic of the drug war on radio and cable news outlets.

Most recently, Norm penned the forward to the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, 2009), stating: “From my own work and the experiences of other members of the law enforcement community, it is abundantly clear that marijuana is rarely, if ever, the cause of harmfully disruptive or violent behavior. In fact, I would go so far as to say that marijuana use often helps to tamp down tensions where they otherwise might exist.”

Norm says, "Yes we cannabis" and so should you! Meet Norm and hundreds of other likeminded people at NORML’s 38th annual conference, taking place September 24-26 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown San Francisco. For registration information, please visit: http://www.norml.org/conference.

More about Norm:

Huffington Post: Thoughts on Pot vs. Alcohol from a Former Police Chief

Huffington Post: Marijuana Is No Laughing Matter, Mr. President

Huffington Post: A Former Police Chief on New Marijuana Book