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Marijuana Advocate Offers Blunt Assessment
Advocate Calls for Legalization
Ross Eichenholz | The Hoya | 09/22/2006

In an on-campus speech last night punctuated by loud bursts of applause, a prominent marijuana legalization advocate said that Americans must be more forthcoming about their smoking habits if the drug is ever to be legalized.

“We are gradually but steadily winning this war to legalize marijuana in America,” said Keith Stroup (LAW ’68). But he cautioned that the cause will require more support from marijuana smokers nationwide.

“It’s time for those of us who smoke marijuana to get up, stand up, smoke up and let the world know how we feel,” he said. He added that marijuana is the third most prevalent recreational drug in the United States and its popularity is growing.

Stroup founded the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1970, and served intermittently as the organization’s executive director until his retirement last year. NORML successfully lobbied for the decriminalization of minor marijuana offenses in 11 states during the 1970s.

Stroup, who wore a lapel pin bearing a marijuana leaf, said that smoking marijuana is neither immoral nor very harmful, and that it has fewer negative effects than both tobacco and alcohol.

“I smoke pot, and I like it a lot,” he said in a well-received line.

Stroup said that the government wastes resources enforcing anti-marijuana laws. College students can face additional steep consequences for marijuana use, he said, as they can be denied federal student aid and subsidized housing. He said that students caught drinking alcohol tend to receive significantly milder penalties.

Stroup outlined several actions that smokers should take in order for the U.S. government to legalize marijuana. He said that marijuana smokers can make the biggest impact by actively campaigning to appeal prohibition, and urged the audience not to vote for candidates who oppose the decriminalization of marijuana use.

He added that marijuana smokers should not be afraid to reveal themselves, and said that they can shed the stigma attached to the drug by showing that it is used by people “of all shapes and sizes.”

The speech was sponsored by the Lecture Fund.

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