Our Board of Directors and many dedicated volunteers collaborated on a strategic plan that will inform our actions during 2021 and beyond.

We knew that the best plan would come from many more lived experiences and ideas than just the interactions of the Board. To achieve this, we drafted general priorities, building on the plan for 2020 and lessons learned this year. We then held a series of 3 meetings with open access to all NC NORML volunteers.

The work of each meeting was built on the previous one. There were many important and dynamic conversations about the clear next steps before us. The first meeting focused on reconfirming our Mission and how NC NORML and the larger community of advocates could move the needle toward legalization in NC further ahead in 2021.

Over the course of the 2nd and 3rd meetings, we continued to zero in closer and closer on a plan to guide us on the path established at the beginning of the year, and also keep us looking ahead over the next 5 years.

Without the variety of volunteers who gave their time and energy throughout the strategic planning process, our plan would not be as thorough and well-thought-out! NC NORML loves our volunteers!

As we worked through the process, it became clear that the last 2 years of building our foundation has brought us greater technical skills, guidelines for organizing, training, and dozens of people who brought their expertise to the table. Our accomplishments are clear as we look back at where we were just under 2 years ago and where we are today. You can learn more about what happened in 2020 in our 2020 Annual Report.

Many supporters took the membership survey this year, and let us know what you think about the information that NC NORML is providing, and how it’s delivered. You also made clear that you are ready to support the cause through giving both time and money! That’s wonderful, because there’s a lot to do to ready North Carolina for ending cannabis prohibition.

NC NORML’s Mission continues as: To educate, empower, and activate North Carolinians – including elected officials – to honor the individual liberty of adult consumers to responsibly use and/or grow cannabis for medical and/or personal purposes.

Educate means teaching the history of Prohibition in contrast to the vast body of cannabis science so the facts can be spread throughout the general public and lawmakers.

Empower means developing the entire advocacy community by providing tools and training on advocacy skills through webinars, live sessions, and other available platforms to build confidence in our members. It also means using our volunteer experiences to grow both personally and professionally.

Activate means establishing and tracking connections between constituents and elected officials to discover and capitalize on new opportunities to move the needle toward legalization..

Our 3 main priorities going forward are: 

• Engage – in clear, understandable ways with North Carolinians to increase the number of constituents organized for large scale mobilization.

• Fundraise – raise money to fund organizational tools, political action and research to achieve legalization.

• Improve Policy – monitor state and local government activities to uncover opportunities for cannabis law and policy improvements, conduct research to develop materials with messaging that appeal to elected officials and the general public.

We hope that you will find our 2021 Strategic Plan exciting and energizing, and will be spurred to engage in our mission as a supporter, donor, and/or volunteer! We look forward to continuing this work with you at our side!