by Christopher Cano, NORML Board of Directors
Let’s be real: cannabis culture in 2026 looks nothing like it did even a decade ago. Most Americans now reside in jurisdictions where adults are permitted under state law to use and purchase cannabis, and medical access is regulated in over 40 states. For many, lighting up feels normal.
But here’s the truth: normal didn’t just happen. It was fought for. And, it was NORML — the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws — that lit the first spark and kept the fire burning when politicians, corporations, and the mainstream wanted nothing to do with us. For over 55 years, from the advent of prohibition to the reforms of the 21st century, NORML and its local chapters across America have been on the front lines educating lawmakers and the public about the truth when it comes to cannabis.
The United States of America has waged a War on Drugs, with cannabis consumers in its crosshairs, since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act in 1970. The costs of that war?
Tens of millions of Americans have been arrested for their use of a plant. Communities are over-policed by a law enforcement apparatus that does not make communities safer. Tax dollars diverted from healthcare and education to keep cops violating civil rights and putting billions into a private prison industry that, in some cases, invests its dollars in selling legal cannabis.
Now the question is: what kind of legalization are we going to settle for?
Because, despite all the progress, cannabis is still federally illegal. People are still being arrested every single day. Black and Latino communities are still targeted. Patients and veterans in prohibition states are still cut off from medicine. And, too many of the people who built this movement are being pushed aside while corporations cash in for their investors.
That’s why supporting NORML matters more now than ever before. This isn’t about protecting Wall Street weed profits. It’s about finishing the fight for justice, equity, and freedom. To the younger activists stepping into this movement: this is your moment to carry the torch forward. NORML has always been grassroots, powered by people who refused to wait for permission to be free. The next wave of reform needs your energy, your creativity, your voice.
And to the older readers — the ones who remember when speaking up about cannabis could cost you your job, your freedom, or your reputation — we need your fire again. You know what it took to get us here. You know what it means to fight when the odds are stacked against us. This movement was built on that kind of courage, and we need it now more than ever.
Because legalization without justice isn’t the endgame. The endgame is freedom for everyone, in every state, with no one left behind.
So don’t just consume cannabis — defend it. Support NORML. Get involved. Donate. Volunteer. Share your voice. The future of this movement belongs to all of us, and if we don’t fight for the kind of legalization we deserve, someone else will define it for us.
Light it up, stand up, and let’s finish what we started.
Christopher Cano is the Co-Founder & Executive Director of Suncoast NORML in Florida and he also serves on NORML’s Board of Directors.
A version of this commentary initially appeared in High Times.
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