A New NORML

Senior Olivia Soofi is advocating for the reform of marijuana laws

By Brendan Gauthier (COM’11)

A year ago, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot initiative decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, but, says Olivia Soofi, “There’s still work to be done.”

Soofi (CAS’10), a history major, is the founder and president of the BU chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). A nonprofit marijuana advocacy group, NORML lobbies Congress and state legislatures to legalize marijuana.

Soofi decided to form a NORML chapter at BU last October. “When I came to BU, I got really interested in the whole subject,” she says. “When I found out that there was going to be a decriminalization bill, I thought, OK, I need to do something.”

Since advocating for the affirmative on last year’s ballot measure, Soofi has organized educational events, among them lectures and documentary screenings, for NORML members.

Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard and director of undergraduate studies, spoke to the BU chapter last year. Miron has written several publications about the financial impact of marijuana legalization.

Many people think the NORML chapter is trying to legalize marijuana for recreational use alone, but Soofi says she is advocating for marijuana to be regulated the same way alcohol and cigarettes are.

“I would like people to open up their minds a little bit more,” she says.

NORML can be reached at bunorml@bu.edu.

Brendan Gauthier can be reached at btgauth@gmail.com.

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