Jon B. Gettman (born August 20, 1957) is a marijuana rights activist, a leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, and a former head 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 cannabis in the United St ...

. He has a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

and is a longtime contributor to ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'' magazine. Gettman filed a petition in 1995 to remove

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

from Schedule I of the

Controlled Substances Act The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal government of the United States, federal drug policy of the United States, U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of ...

that was eventually denied. A second petition was filed in 2002, with the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, that remains under review by the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. Gettman frequently publishes on the marijuana industry and is an associate professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at

Shenandoah University Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students across more than 200 areas of study in six schools and colleges. Shenandoah University is one of five Unit ...

in Virginia.

Education

Gettman received a BA in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

and a MS in

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, specializing in drug policy, from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. He holds a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from

, where he is a senior fellow. In addition to his advocacy work, he is an adjunct instructor at

Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...

in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, teaching public administration.

Advocacy

Gettman is a marijuana reform activist and head of the

Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis Jon B. Gettman (born August 20, 1957) is a marijuana rights activist, a leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, and a former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He has a PhD in public policy and regiona ...

. A former director of the

, he is a longtime contributor to ''

'' magazine, where he writes the Cannabis Column. As leader of the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, he publishes frequently on the marijuana industry.

Medical marijuana

Gettman is a medical cannabis advocate.

Science and the End of Marijuana Prohibition

In 1999, Gettman presented a speech, ''Science and the End of Marijuana Prohibition'', at the 12th International Conference on Drug Policy Reform. He noted that under the Controlled Substances Act, the key decision-makers on marijuana are the scientists at the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

, whose scientific and medical findings are binding on the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking a ...

. Pointing out that Schedules I and II are, by law, reserved for drugs like

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

with a "high potential for abuse," Gettman proposed that drug policy reformers use the petitioning process to "cross-examine under oath and penalty of perjury every HHS official and scientist who claims that marijuana use is as dangerous as the use of cocaine or heroin."

Petitions

In 1995 Gettman submitted a petition to the

calling for the rescheduling of cannabis. The petition sought to remove marijuana and its cannabinoids from Schedules I and II of the

on the grounds that the drug lacks the potential for abuse that warrants inclusion there. The DEA must by law forward all petitions which advocate the rescheduling of a drug to the

for further review. By proceeding to do so, the DEA implicitly judged that "sufficient grounds" exist for the rescheduling of cannabis. In 1999, Gettman speculated that if removed from Schedule I, cannabis could be: *Regulated as a Schedule III or IV

prescription drug A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs c ...

, similarly to

ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor (AR). Anabolism, Anaboli ...

s; *Regulated as a Schedule V

over-the-counter substance Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid presc ...

; or *Removed from the Schedules and regulated similarly to

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s or

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. However, upon reviewing the HHS evaluation, the DEA concluded in 2001 that adequate evidence did not exist to necessitate the change. In response, Gettman brought the case before the US Court of Appeals. The court denied the case judicial review because Gettman, not a medical cannabis patient, was unharmed by the DEA restricting access to the drug. Gettman explained that apparently "only those who are actually injured by DEA's refusal to reschedule cannabis have standing to submit DEA's potential actions in this area to judicial review by the federal courts" and organized a coalition to meet this requirement for a subsequent petition. In October 2002, the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (headed by Gettman and composed of an agglomeration of organizations) filed another petition before the DEA. In April 2002, the DEA formally accepted the proposal, which sought federal recognition of the medicinal value of cannabis, reclassification of the drug, and the establishment of a legal framework for the production and distribution of medical cannabis. In doing so, the DEA acknowledged sufficient merit in the evidence presented in the petition, which focused on accepted medicinal value rather than relative harm, to warrant additional review rather than dismissal. In 2004, the DEA referred the petition to the Department of Health and Human Services for a full-scale evaluation where, as of May 2006, it remains. The Cannabis Column, a longstanding column on

magazine, tracks the progress of this petition. As of September 16, 2009, the column has eclipsed fifty issues.

Studies

Marijuana Production in the United States

In 2006 Gettman wrote a special report, entitled "Marijuana Production in the United States, published in the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform. In it, he estimated the monetary value of the marijuana crop and determined marijuana the largest cash crop in the nation, exceeding the combined values of corn and wheat. Gettman then argues that marijuana prohibition has failed and calls for the legalization and regulation of what he calculated to be a $35.8 billion industry.

Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws

In 2007 Gettman authored another special report for the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, entitled "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws." The study examined the effects of

marijuana prohibition The legality of cannabis for medical and recreational use varies by country, in terms of its possession, distribution, and cultivation, and (in regards to medical) how it can be consumed and what medical conditions it can be used for. The ...

from an economic perspective and calculated that prohibition costs taxpayers approximately $42 billion in enforcement costs and foregone tax revenues.

References

External links

DrugScience.org, website of the Bulletin on Cannabis ReformThe Cannabis Column, written by Gettman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gettman, Jon 1957 births Living people American cannabis activists Catholic University of America alumni American University School of Public Affairs alumni George Mason University alumni Shepherd University faculty