NORMLUTK is fairly new organization to the University of Tennessee landscape, yet it has had a big impact. One might wonder if this is because of the heartfelt dedication of the members or merely due to the controversial nature of the subject. In order to interpret the impact NORMLUTK has had, one must closely examine its history.
NORMLUTK was founded in 1999. Today it has over 250 subscribers to its near daily email list. There were only 5 members at the first meetings but they were full of hope and foresight, not to mention good luck. That year the Issues Committee held a debate about the over criminalization of marijuana...and NORMLUTK was there to hop on board. Emails were collected and the first list serve was compiled at Yahoo groups. Thus, the movement began.
In 2001, our first Freedom Festival took place, sponsored by a third party to the tune of $15,000. Around 1,200 people attended and NORMLUTK became secured in the heart and souls of all the energized guests. Several volunteers worked diligently to help promote this unique event and a website was created to educate the public about NORML and help sell tickets. Matter of fact, the news requested an interview with the benefactor and captured a shoot of him utilizing his tobacco water pipe, which they played during the interview. We even had an especially spooky Halloween party that drove some off the cliffs to insanity. Little did we know that they would climb back up to bite at our ankles! Amongst this chaos, tie-dyed T-shirts were created, known as "The Big Orange Pot Leaf." These were times that tested the strength of all who were involved. The house of cards could have easily collapsed in utter failure, but didn't, and the music went on.
The next few semesters of 2001/2002 couldn't top what came before them, but they tried. A camping trip was taken to an enchanted land protected by the howling and pat-pat-pat of wolf paws upon the snow. After an all too difficult game of hide-and-seek, we ventured together to go to the lake where Granny Greenwich was rumored to stay, but did not come out this chilly night in autumn. There was another Halloween party and shortly after an underground rave was thrown that was very successful. We had our first display case and created our new t-shirts, printed on hemp, known as "Legalize It!!!" Freedom Fest II was thrown and attracted 1800 attendants. The Daily Beacon wrote some articles about NORML and the festivals. We also made a special guest appearance in the Home Coming parade with two 6-foot Joints! And alas the school year came to an end.
That was the end of the old Freedom Festivals in Sweetwater and a new motive was established for NORML. Our website was completely redesigned. It was at this time that NORMLUTK started making a shift from decriminalization of marijuana to education about medical marijuana. This was most evident by the "Have a heart for medical marijuana" Valentine's display case. The April 20th celebration at the Long Branch Saloon was called "Easter Beaster" and featured several good speeches and musical talents. At the beginning of this school year the first "Making love to Mary Jane" almanacs were created and toward the end we had a joint venture cookout with the Knoxville Frisbee Golf Club in Morningside Park. A lot of the old blood moved on to jobs, family among other things and NORMLUTK was poised to make a shift yet again.
The 2003/2004 school year has been a fast paced one. At this time only 1 of the 10 officers had participated in NORML in previous semesters. This year has been a time of growth. The government has undergone a revolution and a new treasurer was established. Calendars were created and a medical marijuana benefit was the greatest benefit ever organized to almost happen. However, through all this, a display case emerged of outstanding creativity, color, and persuasion. An innocent pedestrian couldn't even stride by without being caught in the mesmerizing 3-D lettering and marijuana leaf lays, like a rat to a trap, like bud to a blunt, like toking and joking...Our website also got brought back to useful life, but has required a lot of dedication and an extremely high voltage defibrillator unit. The NORMLUTK intramural soccer team placed second and defeated a many a team. Much of its success was attributed to the slogan, "Score a goal, hit the bowl!" Here again the Issues Committee blessed NORMLUTK more bountifully than before with two fantastic speakers to debate over the decriminalization of marijuana. This truly revitalized the decriminalization movement at the University of Tennessee once again.
This brief journey has helped us to understand how the University of Tennessee has been impacted by NORMLUTK. It is evident that, though the controversial and persecuted nature of the subject might have fortified their convection, NORMLUTK has grown by the continuous and long-lasting support of its members. No one can predict where it will be tomorrow or any day after but you can be apart of it when it gets there.
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