DAY 3: Making the Call
July 24, 2019DAY 5: Cannabis Conversations
July 26, 2019Welcome to Day 4 of your Activist Challenge!
Today, we’ll take the concerns we heard from our elected officials yesterday, and craft a response letter that directly addresses those concerns.
Watch our tutorial video to see a Texas NORML Board Member complete today’s action and give some colorful tips about the process!
DAY 4 ACTION: ADDRESSING THEIR CONCERNS
Look back at who represents you by going to the link:
https://www.texasnorml.org/who-reps-me/
Look up your address, and find the mailing addresses for your elected representatives. Now it’s time to write a letter explaining to them your position on cannabis prohibition, and what you need from them. Below, we’ve included some tips, a sample script, and links to common misconceptions your legislator may have about the plant.
SAMPLE LETTER THAT YOU CAN USE TO WRITE TO YOUR LEGISLATOR
City, State, Zip code
Use the proper and full salutation and name.
Thank them for their support.
COMMON ARGUMENTS, AND INFORMATION FOR YOUR REPLY:
> It’s a Gateway Drug.
No. It isn’t. Here’s a Newsweek article going into detail on the subject. If this is your legislator’s concern, it’s unfounded:
https://www.newsweek.com/marijuana-not-gateway-drug-325358
> It’s as Addictive as Heroin.
No. It isn’t. The Washington Post weighs in:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/09/no-marijuana-is-not-actually-as-addictive-as-heroin/?utm_term=.c450cdaa8f10
> It’ll wreck the economy.
Some prohibitionists claim that for every dollar made selling legal cannabis, several more are spent combating the “social ills” from its use. This is untrue. ThinkProgress explains:
https://thinkprogress.org/5-states-weighing-marijuana-legalization-would-reap-enormous-economic-benefits-study-suggests-cb06831d154b/#.oe7hp1hvq
> Even so, smoking is smoking, and that’s harmful.
Fine, so let’s legalize concentrates and edibles. But, even if you still want to light one up, there’s science showing smoking cannabis is not comparable to smoking tobacco:
https://www.alternet.org/2016/01/what-are-risks-marijuana-smoke-compared-tobacco/
Use these scripts, tips, and facts to craft your letter to your legislator.
Once you’ve written your letter, mail it out! Post how it went on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #texasvotescannabis!
THE BOTTOM LINE
Cannabis has been vilified for decades, and people have real concerns about what they perceive as a sudden acceptance of this plant into polite society. It’s important to listen to their concerns so that you can truly address what worries them, and not overwhelm them with cannabis facts they don’t want to know. Besides, you can always find like-minded individuals ready to talk about the wonders of cannabis!
Join Texas NORML today to do exactly that!
WHAT’S NEXT?
You’ve proved you have a vote. You found out who represents you. You spoke to their office and listened to their concerns. You wrote a letter directly addressing those issues. What now? Tomorrow, we take these actions into our real lives, by talking to two people in our immediate peer group about cannabis, and the work you’ve done this week. See you on Day 5!