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 that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free from emplo ...

activist.

Career

Martinez worked as correctional officer in California, before retiring and focusing on 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, and use of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

by doctor recommendation for patients with certain medical conditions. She later worked on the successful Oregon Ballot Measure 91 (2014) campaign, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In 2009, she established the World Famous Cannabis Cafe, 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 Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Weste ...

, 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 cannabis in the United St ...

. 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.

Personal life

Martinez is a mother and grandmother, and resides in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading