Meet the work of Mikki Norris

Mikki Norris has been an activist for drug policy reform since 1989 when she formed the American Hemp Council along with her husband Chris Conrad. Over the years, they have traveled extensively to educate the public on the many uses of hemp, and to network and strategize with activists and businesspeople on how to advance the movement. In 1993, the couple moved to Amsterdam to design exhibits for and curate the Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum, which they updated in 2000. As community action co-coordinator along for Californians for Medical Rights, she helped organize petitioners to qualify the medical marijuana initiative (Prop. 215) for the 1996 California ballot, with Chris.In 1995, shortly after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Norris decidedto take on broader Drug War issues and felt compelled to put a human face onits prisoners' and their families' plights, through the creation anddevelopment of the photo exhibit project, Human Rights and the Drug War(HRDW, originally known as Human Rights 95) with Chris Conrad and VirginiaResner. The exhibit debuted on the 50th anniversary of the UN to bringattention to US human rights violations in the name of the Drug War, andsince has been shown in various forms at events, conferences, universities,government buildings and libraries throughout the US and Europe. She hasbeen a speaker/presenter on this topic at numerous events and before localgovernments. She has produced over 30 display sets, along with slide showsfor organizations and individuals across the country. To make the powerfulexhibit material even more accessible, the three co-authored two books,Shattered Lives: Portraits from America's Drug War and Human Rights and theUS Drug War and sponsor the website, http://www.hr95.org/.Their work has moved and inspired activists to take action and get involvedwith the drug policy reform movement everywhere, while influencing media(with subject matter used in local and national media, political ads,documentaries, etc.) and public perception of the negative impact of theDrug War on the American people. HRDW played a role in passing a resolutionby Amnesty International USA at its annual convention in 2002. The exhibitproject and Shattered Lives has given hope to many prisoners and theirfamilies by making "injustice visible" and played an important role ingaining clemency for a few. For this work, they were presented with theRobert C. Randall Award in the Field of Citizen Action at the LindesmithCenter/Drug Policy Foundation's 2001 conference, and the Outstanding CitizenActivism Award at the 2004 national NORML conference.Norris’ latest project is the Cannabis Consumers Campaign. As director ofthis exciting project, she focuses on dispelling the negative myths andstereotypes associated with cannabis use, upgrading the image of marijuanausers, ending discrimination, and advocating for their equal rights byencouraging people "to come out of the cannabis closet." Via her web site,http://www.cannabisconsumers.org/, she is gathering surveys (over 1,000 sofar) and posting profiles/photos completed by admitted cannabis consumers.Her research yields information related to various demographic andsociological topics about cannabis consumers (e.g. occupations, educationallevels, interests, accomplishments, ethnic and religious backgrounds,political affiliation, frequency of use, age of first use, use patterns, howcannabis enhances their lives, discrimination they experience, etc. See website for survey form.). In addition, she produced a video project,From the Soapbox (2003) with Ken Slusher, where they taped testimonials frompeople coming out of the closet. To compare the unequal, harsh treatment meted out tocannabis consumers and offenders versus people who use alcohol and tobacco,she has created a PowerPoint presentation entitled, No More Shattered Lives.To bring her ideas from the idea phase to reality, Norris is a board memberof the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance, which recently sponsored campaignto pass the Oakland Cannabis Regulation and Revenue Ordinance (Oakland'sMeasure Z). This initiative would put the City of Oakland on record asworking towards implementing a system to tax and regulate cannabis sales toadults through licensed businesses as soon as possible under state law andmake enforcement of private, adult marijuana offenses the lowest priorityfor law enforcement, effective immediately. It won with 64.6% of the votethis past election.In 2006, she was a consultant on the California Cities Campaign, working with the Next Generation, political consulting group, (with backing from the Marijuana Policy Project), which successfully ran three initiative campaigns in Santa Barbara (66%), Santa Monica (65%), and Santa Cruz (64%), and two city ordinances in West Hollywood and San Francisco. They all make adult, marijuana offenses law enforcement’s lowest priority. (See taxandregulate.org.) She won the Pauline Sabin Award “in honor and recognition of the crucial need for and importance of women leadership in ending marijuana prohibition” at the 2006 National NORML conference.Norris and Conrad are publishers of the quarterly newspaper, the West Coast Leaf, launched in 2008. See www.westcoastleaf.com. She is the managing editor of this paper serving the cannabis community with distribution throughout California and selected places in Oregon and Washington.Norris obtained a BA degree in sociology from the University of California,Los Angeles in 1974 and a Master’s Degree in Special Education along withmultiple subjects and communication-handicapped teaching credentials fromthe California State University, Los Angeles in 1979. She is a formerteacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los AngelesCommunity College, and is now a full-time drug policy reformer, writer, andpublic speaker.To get in touch with Mikki: mikki@hr95.org