Welcome to NORML Appalachia of Ohio

We are a regional chapter of NORML, National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, located in the state of Ohio.  NORML has been making change for more than 50 years.  We are a non-profit organization fighting to make a path to change for Cannabis.  

Our mission is to move public opinion significantly to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible, adult use of cannabis is no longer subject to penalty.  It is the opinion of this organization that the decision concerning the use of marijuana is an individual one and should not be dictated by law. We offer guidance, support, information, education, and exposure to the Cannabis Movement, and hope that you'll join us.  

NORML Appalachia of Ohio's

Scheduled Monthly Public Meetings

We host a free public Regional Chapter meeting every month, on the second Tuesday of the month.  We would like to invite you to come join in, share some of your ideas, and hear about what's going on with the chapter.  You might even make some new friends.    

Time:             7pm - 8pm

Location:       Home Tavern, 363 Gallagher Ave., Logan, OH

January 10, 2023

February 14, 2023

March 14, 2023

April 11, 2023

May 9, 2023

June 13, 2023

July 11, 2023

August 8, 2023

September 12, 2023

October 10, 2023

November 14, 2023

December 12, 2023

For More Information call 740-231-2472

News From NORML


NORML Appalachia of Ohio to Sponsor Ohio Lobby Day 4/20/22 alongside Sensible Movement Coalition

Please join us on Lobby Day at the Ohio Statehouse on 4/20.  We are in need of voices to tell the legislators what the people want and need.  Below, you will find forms to help us make an impact in Columbus.  Please volunteer where you can.  We need your help to make real change in Ohio!

Voters In Seven Ohio Cities Approve Marijuana Decriminalization Ballot Measures, With Seven Others Defeated

Marijuana Moment

Published on November 3, 2021

By Kyle Jaeger 

Voters in more than a dozen Ohio cities had the chance to weigh in on marijuana reform on their ballots on Tuesday, and seven of those jurisdictions ultimately approved local measures to decriminalize cannabis.

Going into Election Day, 22 jurisdictions across the state had already adopted local statues effectively decriminalizing possession, some of which have been passed by voter initiatives while others were adopted by city councils.

In most of the municipalities where marijuana was on the ballot this week, the text of the proposal simply said, “shall [jurisdiction] adopt the Sensible Marihuana Ordinance, which lowers the penalty for misdemeanor marijuana offenses to the lowest penalty allowed by State Law?”

Others were lengthier and spelled out changes to local statutes, specifying that “if the amount of the drug involved is less than two hundred grams, possession of marihuana is a minor misdemeanor drug abuse offense” and that “persons convicted of violating this section shall be fined $0.00.”

Voters in Martins Ferry, Murray City, New Lexington, New Straitsville, Rayland, Tiltonsville and Yorkville approved the decriminalization proposals.

Meanwhile, voters in Brookside, Dillonvale, Laurelville, McArthur, Morristown, Mount Pleasant and Powhatan Point rejected the reform measures.

The police department in McArthur made headlines last month by circulating—and then deleting from Facebook—a press release from the chief saying that cannabis decriminalization could be the beginning of “a downhill tumble” for society.

Meanwhile, NORML Appalachia of Ohio and the Sensible Movement Coalition also sought to qualify reform initiatives in dozens more cities, towns and villages this year, but not every effort made it across the finish line by the signature gathering deadline. In those places where petitioning efforts fell short this cycle, the advocates say they’ll try again in future elections.

“The initiatives will reduce penalties for misdemeanor marijuana offenses to the lowest allowed by state law, allowing the municipalities to focus on more pressing issues in their communities,” the local NORML chapter said in a press release. “This new citizens’ law is now shared by almost 3,000,000 residents of Ohio, with more communities already scheduled for 2022.”

Don Keeney, an activist with NORML, said Tuesday’s overall result “clearly shows support is gaining.”

“Usually low turnouts favor conservatives views,” he told Marijuana Moment, noting that the highest turnout in the jurisdictions with cannabis on the ballot this year that he saw was just 9 percent.

“Yet despite this we still managed to win,” he said. “The losses we had were very close 55 percent to 45 percent. Had the turnout been better we would have won there too.”

Meanwhile, a separate campaign recently cleared a final hurdle to begin collecting signatures for a 2022 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana statewide.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CTRMLA) launched its ballot effort in July. And the attorney general certified the measure in August after his office rejected summary language of an earlier version.

Ohio voters rejected a 2015 legalization initiative that even some reform advocates opposed because of its oligopolistic model that would’ve granted exclusive control over cannabis production to the very funders who paid to put the measure on the ballot.

Advocates suspended a subsequent campaign to place a measure on the 2020 ballot due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Separately, a pair of Ohio Republican lawmakers recently filed a bill to legalize cannabis, breaking from the norm of Democrats leading the charge on reform in the state.

In July, Democratic lawmakers in Ohio formally introduced a bill to legalize marijuana possession, production and sales—the first effort of its kind in the state legislature.

Marijuana Decriminalization Qualifies For Local Ohio Ballot, With Activists Working To Secure More Measures

Marijuana Moment

Published May 21, 2021

By Kyle Jaeger


Ohio activists have qualified a measure to decriminalize marijuana to appear on a local 2021 ballot—the first of dozens of reform proposals that could go before voters this year as signature gathering efforts continue across the state.

The Hocking County Board of Elections certified on Wednesday that advocates had collected enough valid signatures to put the question of decriminalization before voters in Murray City. This is the latest development in a years-long grassroots push to enact the policy change at the local level while statewide efforts have stalled.

All told, 22 Ohio jurisdictions have adopted local statues so far that reduce the penalty for low-level cannabis possession from a misdemeanor punishable by jail time and a fine to the “lowest penalty allowed by state law.”

NORML Appalachia of Ohio and the Sensible Movement Coalition (SMC) have spearheaded the Ohio decriminalization movement. Activists expect to see more reform measures validated by boards of elections across the state in the coming days and weeks.

Signatures for an initiative in McArthur have been turned in and are expected to be validated soon.

Decriminalization efforts are also underway in Bellefontaine, Belmont, Bethesda, Bloomingdale, Bridgeport, Brilliant, Brookside, Chippewa Lake, Flushing, Gloria Glens Park, Holloway, Huntsville, Kent, Lakeview, Laurelville, Morristown, Mt. Pleasant, New Lexington, New Straitsville, Powhatan Point, Rayland, Rushville, Russell’s Point, Shadyside, St. Clairsville, Tarlton, Tiltonsville and Yorkville.

“The citizens have, through the use of a citizens’ ballot initiative, decided it is time for a change,” Don Keeney, executive director of NORML Appalachia of Ohio, told Marijuana Moment. “There two months left in this petition cycle so we plan to be very busy.”

The 22 jurisdictions where the activists have had past successes include major cities like Dayton, Toledo, Athens, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland—some of which passed voter-approved ballot measures, while others took action via city councils. Now advocates are aiming to more than double that total this year.

Reform groups had hoped to secure even more wins last year, but the coronavirus pandemic derailed many efforts. While four cities approved the policy change in 2020, advocates initially planned to target a total of 14 municipalities.

“Despite COVID-19 regulations, Sensible Movement Coalition and NORML Appalachia Ohio continue to educate local citizens about their right to home rule and sensible decrim,” Jolie Moyer and Pricilla Harris, who work with both groups, said in a joint statement to Marijuana Moment.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic setbacks, advocates sued the state last year, asking that they be allowed to gather signatures electronically. But while a federal judge sided with them in a May 2020 ruling, the decision was overturned by an appeals court the next month.

Activists had also hoped to place a marijuana legalization initiative on the statewide ballot last year, but that effort also stalled as the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting public health restrictions made signature gathering all but impossible.