Dr. Jon Gettman
Board of DirectorsEducation, Criminal Justice & Activist.
About
Jon Gettman is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University. He is best known in the medical cannabis community for his work on two unsuccessful efforts to have cannabis rescheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Gettman has also played a lead role in documenting and publicizing racial disparities in marijuana arrests. Currently a member of Patients Out of Time’s Board of Directors, he also previously served as NORML’s National Director where he developed the foundation for the organization’s activist network.
Educational Professional
Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University.
Criminal Justice
Lead role in documenting and publicizing racial disparities in marijuana arrests.
Accomplished Activist
Previously served as NORML’s National Director where he developed the foundation for the organization’s activist network.
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, whose scientific and medical findings are binding on the Drug Enforcement Administration. Pointing out that Schedules I and II are, by law, reserved for drugs like heroin and cocaine 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.”
