Montana NORML, an official affiliate of National NORML, is an organization of diverse Montanans with a few common policy goals:

• Montana is a bastion of individuals’ rights. Our government should not interfere with an adult’s decision to use marijuana, a substance that has been proven less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, has never caused an overdose death, and moved Francis Young, the DEA’s own administrative law judge, to declare it “one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man”. Prohibition of marijuana doesn’t work, and causes more harm than good. People should not face any penalties for responsibly growing, possessing, or using marijuana. Unfortunately, current Montana marijuana penalties don’t reflect that sentiment. We hope to change that.

• In the interest of Montana’s agricultural economy, industrial hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant currently banned by the DEA, should be explored as a versatile alternative crop for Montana’s farmers.