Mission
Southeastern Wisconsin NORML's mission is to educate the Wisconsin public on cannabis and the harms of cannabis prohibition, and to advocate for the legalization of the production and use of cannabis for medical, adult recreational, and industrial purposes.
About Us
Southeastern Wisconsin NORML was formed in January 2011 in Milwaukee and consists of an all-volunteer staff consisting of intelligent, passionate, hardworking activists who are fed up with the injustice of sick patients being denied their medicine or getting arrested for using it and fed up with the damage caused to individuals and communities across Wisconsin from the unnecessary punishment of cannabis use and possession. We are dedicated to reforming cannabis laws in Wisconsin and local communities and we fight for the legalization of medical cannabis, industrial hemp, and recreation cannabis under a model similar to Colorado's.
Our work includes: working with legislators, running petition drives, helping elect candidates who support our goals, and raising public awareness and support.
We have organized the annual Milwaukee Marijuana March the first Saturday in May (corresponding with the global marijuana march) since 2011 with over 1000 people attending our march to city hall in 2014.
In 2014 Southeastern Wisconsin NORML - along with other groups from around the state such as Wisconsin NORML, , Wisconsin ASA, and the - assisted in the design, fundraising, and logistics that put up Wisconsin's first pro-cannabis billboard. The billboard faced eastbound traffic along I-94 in West Allis for 6 weeks and called out two state senators who were fundamental in blocking medical marijuana in our state.
In 2014 and 2015 we attempted petitions for direct binding legislation that would have almost entirely eliminated all penalties for cannabis possession in the City of Milwaukee. While falling short of the staggering 30,801 signatures required by to force a referendum vote, we are proud of the many hours of work that our volunteers put in to collect the approximately 10k-15k signatures we did collect each year. We learned a lot in the process and have since decided that we should make our next attempt at direct legislation in a smaller SE WI community, where the required number of signatures would be much lower and more feasible to collect.
Lately we've been engaging in community outreach by having booths at local events such as Pride Fest and Locust St Fest, and campaigning for candidates who will champion marijuana legalization in the legislature. We are working to increase our volunteer force so we can have an impact on the November elections and begin canvassing Milwaukee area communities to inform residents about the many benefits of legalizing cannabis. Please attend a monthly meeting or go to our volunteer sign up page to get involved.
