Madeline Martinez is an American

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual Civil rights, civil and human rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume Cannabis (drug), cannabis ...

activist.

Career

Martinez worked as correctional officer in California, before retiring and focusing on cannabis activism.

Cannabis activism

Martinez is a longtime advocate for the legalization of cannabis. She started her efforts by collecting signatures for Oregon Ballot Measure 67 (1998), which modified

state law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...

to allow the cultivation,

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

, and use of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

by doctor recommendation for patients with certain medical conditions. She later worked on the successful

Oregon Ballot Measure 91 (2014) Oregon Ballot Measure 91 was a 2014 ballot measure in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its passage legalized the "recreational use of marijuana, based on regulation and taxation to be determined by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission". Measure 91 was ...

campaign, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In 2009, she established the

World Famous Cannabis Cafe The World Famous Cannabis Cafe opened in Portland, Oregon, as the first cafe in the United States for state-authorized medical marijuana cardholders. Established in 2009 by Madeline Martinez, then the Executive Director of Oregon NORML, the Cannabi ...

, which operated until March 2016. In 2015, she was reportedly working to end cannabis prohibition at the national level, "to protect the rights of women and families stuck in the gray areas created by legislative changes across the country". Martinez is the executive director of

Oregon NORML Oregon NORML is the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) affiliate for the U.S. state of Oregon. Description and history The chapter has had up to 3,000 dues-paying members. In 2003, Oregon NORML meetings were held at Mt ...

, the largest affiliate of the

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Acc ...

. She serves on NORML's board of directors, co-founded the NORML Women's Alliance, and was named the organization's "Pauline Sabin Winner" in 2007. She is also a member of

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), formerly Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization group of current and former police, judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice professionals who use their ex ...

Personal life

Martinez is a mother and grandmother, and resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Career

Cannabis activism

Personal life

References

Further reading