Photo: Justin Strekal - Twitter
Justin Strekal - NORML
Justin Strekal
Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, was the last day working as a marijuana lobbyist for Justin Strekal, one of the most efficient brawlers in the fight for cannabis reform.
Strekal served as political director of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, for five years. He oversaw the most critical times for cannabis reform, as most states that legalized marijuana in the United States, as well as national legalization movements in Canada, Malta, Uruguay, Mexico and more, all happened under his tenure.
When Strekal took his position at NORML, Donald Trump was freshly elected president, Jeff Session was on his way to dismantle whatever little progress had been accomplished under Barack Obama, Congress was held in a GOP chokehold, and the upcoming years seemed very gloomy for marijuana reform enthusiasts. Instead, in those years, California, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, New Mexico and, most recently, Connecticut, all legalized recreational marijuana, with many more states decriminalizing it and legalizing medical marijuana.
Mission Not Accomplished
However, as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, NORML’s mission is not accomplished yet. The organization’s efforts led to never-before-seen reform proposals making it to the floor of Congress, with the MORE Act of 2020 becoming the first federal marijuana legalization bill to be approved by the House of Representatives, although it was ultimately killed by then-Senate Majority Leader Republican Senator Mitch McConnell.
“The work is not done, nor am I done with a role in the cannabis policy space,” says Justin Strekal. “In the coming weeks, I’ll be engaging with allies about a new political cannabis project that I am incubating.” He launched Useful Strategies and joined the digital consulting firm Unfiltered Media to continue exercising pressure and use his expertise in the cannabis reform space.
The work cannot stop until the daily human rights violations caused by the criminalization of cannabis entirely end. Strekal, when talking to Marijuana Moment, retold the principle behind his work ethic: “The area of marijuana [reform] is only incidentally about marijuana, it’s really about freedom.”
The New Man
Replacing Justin Strekal to wrangle with Congress on Capitol Hill is Morgan Fox, previously Media Relations Director for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Prior to that, Fox worked for nearly a decade with the Marijuana Policy Project and was involved in more than a dozen state-level cannabis reform ballot initiatives.
“After spending my entire career trying to reform our country’s disastrous marijuana laws, it is truly an honor to be a part of the organization that started it all,” Fox said. “We have never been closer to substantively changing federal cannabis policy, and the experience, historical context, and dedication that NORML represents is absolutely vital to achieving sensible reforms. I look forward to working closely with Congress and our allies to continue the efforts to end prohibition, repair the harms it has caused, and enact new policies centered on science, safety and justice.” The first big checkbox on Morgan Fox’s list is to oversee the passage of the MORE Act in the new legislative session; one where Republicans have lost much of their grip on the Senate.
Despite the fact that most issues and inhumane policies pouring out of the U.S. Congress are due to lobbying, NORML proved that lobbying can do some good, as well, when led by people with good intentions. Although Justin Strekal believes that lobbying should entirely be abolished, NORML’s lobbying efforts have been key in counterbalancing the lobbying efforts of pharmaceutical companies trying to keep marijuana illegal. Now, that mission is in the capable hands of Morgan Fox. Let us wish him great success.
