When the Obama administration last week changed its drug-enforcement policy to stop the pursuit of medical-marijuana sellers and users in the 14 states that allow it, Keith Stroup earned one more small victory. The 65-year-old founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws sat down with The Examiner to discuss his life’s efforts to legalize pot, and the libertarian values that have guided his work.
Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I was raised as a fundamentalist Baptist in southern Illinois, but I managed to escape that culture. I respect those people for whom religion plays a larger role, but I am personally not religious in any traditional sense.
I developed my basic morality from my church and my family. I rejected the ceremonial part, but I’m delighted to have been raised in that way. Work hard, be honest, and if you live a responsible life you’ll do well, you’ll be happy, you’ll have the chance to do interesting things. I have no regrets about being raised in that environment.
Did anyone or any event especially influence your path in life?
The anti-war movement certainly radicalized me as I was coming through law school, and the two years I spent working closely with Ralph Nader. And I received a lot of advice from former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Before I started NORML he was the person I went to — I wanted someone to tell me this wasn’t a crazy idea. Ramsey said something like, “Absolutely you should do it, because it’s important, it needs to be done, and when you don’t do these high-minded projects when you’re young, you often find later on that you’re not free to do it, you have other responsibilities.” Of course, he and I thought it would take ten years, and it’s taken four decades.
And you know, Ralph didn’t smoke marijuana, and Ramsey Clark certainly didn’t — I haven’t really thought about it like that before. But the people who influenced me — it had nothing to do with marijuana, but with personal freedom.
As someone who was an active participant, what are some of the legacies of the anti-war movement, good or bad?
From my perspective, the late 1960s and early 1970s saw a country incredibly divided between those who supported the war, and those against it, who were usually portrayed as long-haired, joint-smoking hippies. That was never an accurate picture — the fact that one smokes marijuana has never suggested his or her politics. And that stereotype of a long-haired hippie burning his draft card has hurt us all of these years.
There were a lot of changes going on — unmarried people having sex more freely and living together, gay couples coming out of the closet. Many people felt threatened by that. But today, most people would recognize that we have a healthy culture. It’s multicultural, anyone can find a niche here, and I think we’re stronger because of that. It’s been a long time since I’ve run into people who think the country is weaker because of the cultural changes of the 1970s. I think that’s a tired cliche.
How have your tactics or beliefs changed since you founded NORML in 1970?
When we started, culturally you couldn’t be pro-marijuana — we had to be anti-jail, and pro-saving criminal justice resources. But in the last decade in particular, most of our work has had to do with advancing the concept that there’s nothing wrong with smoking marijuana. Today we are pro-pot. It is far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. We’re not trying to turn people on, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with smoking pot.
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe that in a free society, the individual should be allowed as much personal freedom as possible, unless the individual’s conduct presents a direct threat to the health and welfare of others. What we do in the privacy of our own home should be free from government scrutiny altogether — what music we listen to, what books we read, how we conduct ourselves in the privacy of our own bedroom, whether we smoke marijuana or drink alcohol. That’s the core principal my life has been based on.
