Chris Conrad And Mikki Norris In Ireland
By Brian Houlihan
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Drug policy reform activists Chris Conrad and Mikki Norris recently visited Ireland. During their stay The Hemp Company and the Dublin Hemp Museum organised a talk at Bagots Hutton.
Since the 1980’s Chris and Mikki have advocated for drug policy reform. Over the decades they have participated in thousands of talks, court appearances, government hearings and other significant events. Both have published a number of books and magazine articles. Chris and Mikki have also created and supported initiatives which have changed drug policy in the USA.
Tom Curran of Help Not Harm was a special guest on the night and opened proceedings. Tom came to prominence after it was revealed he grew cannabis for his partner while she lived with multiple sclerosis.
Tom spoke about his own experiences and provided insightful analysis on the ongoing fight for medical cannabis reforms in Ireland.
Chris Conrad was next to take the stage. He spoke getting involved with cannabis activism in the late 1980’s and his journey since. Chris also outlined the history of prohibition in the USA. Chris also discussed the role hemp played and the future it could have.
Mikki Norris was the final speaker to take the stage. She spoke about the ongoing reforms and the positive and negative situations that exist currently in the USA. Mikki also spoke about the challenges facing activists and businesses under the Trump administration.
A Q&A section at the end was quite engaging and touched upon a number of topics including Jack Herrer and how to shape campaigns. During the Q&A an insightful contribution was made by the medical cannabis campaigner Mark Fitzsimon who was in attendance.
We hope this was the first of many events highlighting hemp and medical cannabis. Plans are already being drawn up for a number of talks and we hope to have some news soon.
Thanks to Bagots Hutton for hosting us and their hospitality.
Brian Houlihan is the curator of the Dublin Hemp Museum and regularly writes about hemp. Follow him on Twitter @dubhempmuseum and@houlihanbrian. You can also find the museum on Facebook.
