Oregon NORML - Important Contacts

Madeline Martinez elected to NORML's Board of Directors Our Executive Director is now on the National Board of Directors for NORML! Recipient of NORML’s 2007 Pauline Sabin Award for women’s leadership in the cannabis movement, Madeline Martinez is the executive director of Oregon NORML, a medical cannabis patient and advocate. She is co-creator of the annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards, the first event of its kind in the nation, and a member of Oregon's Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana. Currently, she is co-chief petitioner for the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, a statewide initiative for 2010 which will tax and regulate cannabis for adult consumption, allow farmers to grow industrial hemp and fund state social service programs. Madeline is a retired peace officer and grandmother of five. Recently elected to a third term, Madeline leads Oregon NORML in providing public educational events with multiple appearances on local cable TV shows. She has spearheaded campaigns for hundreds of letters to Congress in support of industrial hemp, medical marijuana and the end of cannabis prohibition for adults. She currently oversees an innovative twice-monthly program for medical marijuana patients that provides medicine, growing information and starts to Oregon cardholders. With the organization of rallies and legislative testimony, her past successes include positive legislative changes to protect and improve the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. She continues her decade-long fight to normalize cannabis for responsible adult use.
Oregon NORML Board of Directors	PO Box 16057 Portland, OR  97292-0057	Phone: 503-239-6110
Executive Director / --- Lobbyist & ACMM	Madeline Martinez	exec.directorornorml.org
Associate Director / --- Media Coordinator	Russ Belville ("Radical" Russ)	webmasterornorml.org
Legal Counsel	Paul Loney	legalornorml.org
Director	Melodie Silverwolf (Sister Sativa)
Director	David Bram	techornorml.org
Director	Anna Diaz	annaornorml.org
Director	Scott Gordon
Director	Renée Pelster
Director	Linda Mason
Eastern Oregon Director	Wendy Verstoppen	eastsideornorml.org
Oregon NORML Information E-mails	General Information	infoornorml.org
	Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards	omcaornorml.org
	Oregon NORML Presents: A Cannabis Community Forum (Cable TV Show)	tvornorml.org
	Volunteering	volunteerornorml.org
Oregon NORML Eastside	Long Creek, OR	eastside@ornorml.org
		Get Involved! We want to help you help yourself and help others! If you want to put in the hard work needed to re-legalize cannabis in Oregon and America, we'll help you start your own chapter of NORML in your area. Learn how to conduct medical marijuana caregiver meetings, start your own hemp festival, begin lobbying your elected officials and educating your friends and neighbors. Become a part of the most inclusive civil rights and ecological movement on the planet and meet like-minded people who share your passion for freedom and respect for nature. We're looking for five volunteers who want to form a regional or campus chapter of NORML... are you one of the five?

Oregon NORML Political Advocacy Campaigns

At Oregon NORML, we are often asked by people, "what can I do?" The number one thing you can do is to make your voice heard to our elected officials. Remember, the president, the governor, senators, and representatives answer to We the People. But if they don't know what the people -- our people -- want, they will continue to serve the interests of the people who do write and call them. So call, write, fax, email, and protest to your representatives. Use the links above to find all the addresses and phone numbers you need.

Write A Letter!

The second most important thing you can do is write letters to the editor of your local and national news media. So many people agree with our mission to enact commonsense reforms to our marijuana laws, but are afraid or unwilling to speak up. When people see your opinion in print -- whether they agree or not -- they see that there is a serious debate about our nation's drug policies. Our elected representatives read those newspaper opinion pages to get a feel for the pulse of their constituency. When they see our anti-prohibition opinions on the editorial page, they know there are hundreds of other voices echoing that opinion.

Below are some example letters you can sign onto and send to your representatives. You can use them as they are or modify them to include your own thoughts. You can use them as talking points for your own letters. Also, be sure to check our Legislation Page for targeted campaigns for/against current Oregon and Federal Bills.

The third thing you can do is get educated about your constitutional rights. Visit our Links page for resources that will teach you everything you've ever wanted to know about cannabis and drug policy. It's all fun and games... until somebody gets busted. Know your rights, know the law, and learn what you can do about it.

The fourth thing you can do is VOTE - vote in your local, state, and federal elections. Know your candidates' stand on medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and industrial hemp. If they don't take a stand, ask them. Let them know their answer determines your vote. Also, vote with your dollars. Support businesses that support marijuana law reform and boycott businesses that oppose positive marijuana policy.

The fifth thing you can do is donate money to Oregon NORML, National NORML, Marijuana Policy Project, Drug Reform Coordination Network, and the other organizations working to lobby our legislators and educate our country on the issues of marijuana law reform. Letters, brochures, advertising, lobbying, phone calls, events, and websites cost money to maintain. Even a monthly donation of $5 equals $60 a year spent on fighting against the drug warriors.

The sixth thing you can do is to talk to your friends, co-workers, and family about your personal feelings on marijuana issues, as much as possible given your financial/work situation. Come out of the cannabis closet! Disenfranchised minorities get no change in society until they make a visible stand and demand equality. Even if you cannot come right out and say, "I am a cannabis consumer, and I demand my rights!" you can refute drug war mythology about marijuana and its users.

Finally, if you have written letters to the editor or to your representatives, let us know by sending us an e-mail with your letter and their response. With your permission, we'll include it here for others to sign on to and use for their letters. Together we can change opinions and change the law!

Write A Letter!

Visit our Articles section to select from many letters you can send yourself. Feel free to edit them to make them sound like your own words.