(Westword) Rob and Jessica Corry aren’t normal Republicans, but the Corrys did spend time last weekend as NORML Republicans at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’s 38th annual conference in San Francisco. Rob, a Denver attorney who specializes in marijuana cases, and Jessica, a public-policy analyst with the right-wing Independence Institute, were there to encourage other Republicans to end the laws that make marijuana illegal and to discuss pot, parenting and morals in general. The couple (who have also been blogging on the subject for the Denver incarnation of the liberal Huffington Post website) say there’s nothing more immoral than bankrupting their children’s future by spending billions of dollars on the war on drugs, and Jessica, who’s never shied away from a controversial topic, notes that she’s received more response to her pro-marijuana mom stance than any other.
NORML advocates believe the current recession and changing attitudes toward marijuana — medical or otherwise — have created a political climate that may allow politicians on either side of the aisle to get behind pot reform laws. After all, retired Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo, Texas congressman Ron Paul and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson all are on record as endorsing the legalization of pot. And Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has also been edging in that direction. As the Democrat told Westword last week, “Legalizing marijuana entirely would be the simplest way to resolve the tension between the Constitution and the criminal statutes and I expect that, eventually, most states will decide to do so.”
Rob & Jessica’s participation in the Pot & Parenting panel at NORML CON was outstanding, as Jessica even mentioned my call to inform her of her selection as a High Times Freedom Fighter of the Month (coming next issue) as one of her proudest achievements, and a source of jealousy from her husband Rob!
