In years past, on April 20 (4/20)— dubbed “Weed Day” around the world— in Memphis Overton Park was the place to gather, roll, and light up, but this year, the only things rolling were the wheels of police cars as they circled the park.
Lee Otts, the director of Memphis’ chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), was at the park, however he said he took no part in smoking the pungent plant.
Instead, he was on the Greensward with a tabletop full of voter registration forms, information on ways to contact lawmakers, and other practical steps the public can take to raise support for the drug to be legalized.
Otts was taking part in the organization’s national Day of Action, a piece of the larger Take Action Campaign— a grassroots effort to raise support for marijuana reform bills carried out through social media and calls-to-action to lawmakers.
At the end of the day, Otts says the goal was to begin appealing to lawmakers by encouraging marijuana advocates to take action and do their part in working to legalize the drug.
“If you don’t like something and don’t do anything about it, nothing will change,” Otts said.
