Since nothing is more connected with cannabis law reform than an active, engaged constituency, NC NORML is coming up with ways to connect constituents with candidates!
Here are a few opportunities to connect with candidates and advocate for cannabis law reform:
Attend the Candidate Cannabis Conversation
We are inviting all voices; Pro-Cannabis, Anti-Cannabis or Somewhere in Between, to a Candidate Cannabis Conversation on February 26th! This timing is important because our Primary Election determines the candidate in each party on the November General Election ballot.
Mark your calendar to attend in person or catch the livestream on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.
Where - Seymour Center (2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516)
When - Wednesday February 26th, 2020 at 6:30pm (feel free to come a little early to visit tables and network)
How to attend - https://tinyurl.com/Join-Us
Vote
The Primary Early Voting: Feb 13th-29th and Election Day March 3rd (aka Super Tuesday). All candidates running to represent us in the NC General Assembly have been invited and will have a microphone.
Independent registered voters can ask for either Republican or Democratic ballot.
Share your #MyNCCannabisStory with a Constituent Video or a Written Story
North Carolina needs to hear your #MyNCCannabisStory. You don’t need to show your face and don't share your name. Videos need to be really short to have an impact. This will also help you craft and refine a short script that you can reuse every time you are in front of a candidate in this important election year.
Follow the guidelines below and you may see your video help change a candidate’s perspective.
By sending a video to North Carolina NORML, you are granting permission for North Carolina NORML or its delegates to use this video at any time, anywhere.
If you prefer, you can write your #MyNCCannabisStory of 250 words or fewer using the formula above. We will lightly edit your story for typos and add a graphic for impact.
How to Make Your Constituent Video
- Think about the one idea that you want to get across to anyone who would learn about why cannabis legalization is important to you.
- Practice and Record - must be less than 60 seconds in length
- Re-record as needed! No biggie.
- If you want to record more than one video, you can send as many as you’d like! Each video should be able to stand alone.
- Put the video on Google Drive or another file sharing tool
- This week, invite [email protected] to access the video (or email your cannabis story to the same address) and we will take it from there.
Here’s a simple structure you can use as a guide to help you decide what to say and your written story can follow a similar flow:
“Hello I’m from NC” (DO NOT PROVIDE YOUR NAME and, unless absolutely related to your question, further defining your location at best wastes a few seconds and at worst, allows for additional bias) 5 seconds
“My basic position/understanding of this issue is… “ (if it feels necessary to clarify the reason for your interest/care/need to ask your cannabis question please do so, simply make an effort to keep this brief) 35 seconds
“My question is…” (keep it open ended if possible, clarify to whom it may be directed if necessary) 20 seconds
View our example video https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wGJzDj-vHG3lLUNNCPJKhEbJ_0dP7YsJ
Here’s an example of a written story:
I come by my anxiety honestly. My mother suffered at least one nervous breakdown – I was ten – and 50 years later my father killed himself with a handgun. Between those years, I rode the anxiety roller coaster. I still do.
To cope, I’ve used several interventions: therapy, exercise, and SSRIs. I also tried pot.
Twenty years ago, as part of a whirlwind trip, I found myself in Amsterdam, filled with too much travel worry. Pot was legal there, so I inhaled. With one quiet breath, I shed my anxiety like old skin.
And then I came home to America, where prohibition reigned.
Today I rarely leave my house in Chapel Hill. For me, the benefits of getting out into the world are swamped by constant, irrational worry. That’s my anxiety talking. It’s debilitating.
I’m writing this because I want to help change North Carolina's marijuana laws. I’m frustrated to live in a state that prohibits medical cannabis, a treatment I know is effective for anxiety. Instead, I’m held captive by the pharmaceutical industry. I still take prozac. It doesn’t help much.
North Carolina is home to thousands upon thousands of people living smaller lives and worrying needlessly because they suffer from anxiety. I’m one of them.
Access to a simple plant could alleviate much of this suffering. People could be happier.
How can anyone be against that?
As always:
- If you aren’t on our email list or have friends, family, and neighbors who aren’t, sign up at ncnorml.org/get-involved/ (NOTE: If you already completed the form and didn’t know who your reps were or their positions, you can re-submit it. We will take care of cleaning up duplicates.)
- You can also stay up-to-date by following NC NORML on Facebook facebook.com/NCNORML, Instagram www.instagram.com/ncnorml, YouTube youtube.com/c/NCNORML, or Twitter twitter.com/NC_NORML and check in on our website at www.ncnorml.org. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/NCNORML and check out our monthly Board Chats. We also have regional Facebook pages that you can join to have conversations with your NORML neighbors.
#NCNORML
#TakeAction
#5MinuteActions
#LegalizeIt
#MyNCCannabisStory