From: [c--o--n] at [dsmnet.com] (Carl E. Olsen)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: NORML Members - Important Notice!
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 18:05:20
Summary: NORML Board may dissolve

From: [NATLNOR M L] at [aol.com]
To: [C--O--N] at [dsm1.dsmnet.com]
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 94 15:07:21 EDT
Subject: Dick and NORML's Board of Directors

Dear Carl,
If you wouldn't mind, I would greatly appreciate it if you would 
post the following letter that I have written to you on the 
relevant newsgroups on the Internet (the ones that are carrying 
rumors about Dick, the Board, and so forth).  Please let me know 
if you will or will not be posting this for me.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
NORML

*****************************

Dear Carl,

Thank you for agreeing to post this letter on the relevant 
newsgroups on the Internet.

This letter is in regard to recent rumors about the possible 
resignation of Dick Cowan, NORML's national director.

NORML's Board of Directors voted at their last meeting (on July 
23) to impose a number of rules on Dick Cowan, one of which 
required him to receive the Board's permission every time he 
wanted to spend $500 or more of NORML's money on a given project.  
The Board passed a few other resolutions, one of which was that 
Dick Cowan would receive no salary (because he had previously
taken himself off of the payroll in February 1994).  It should 
also be noted that Dick brought in more than $10,000 in honoraria 
in exchange for speaking at various college campuses this past 
year, which is more money than the entire Board combined has 
raised in the past couple of years.

Only 8 of the 15 Board members were present at this meeting.  
Dick Cowan could not attend this meeting and was not consulted on 
these matters.

When Mr. Cowan learned what the Board had decided later that 
night--he was on the West Coast attending to business at the 
time)--he said, "I cannot work for this Board any longer."  
Because he assumed that the Board would not decide to dissolve 
itself, he expected that he would be packing up his things when 
he returned to Washington, D.C., later that week.

Upon realizing the implications of their decision, 9 of the 15 
Board members decided to dissolve the Board upon the condition 
that Dr. Lester Grinspoon and Dr. John Morgan would be appointed 
as the founding members of a new Board, and it would be the two 
doctors' responsibility to decide who else to appoint to the new 
"super Board."  Unfortunately, 6 of the 15 members refuse to 
dissolve the current Board, so the entire Board must vote on this 
issue in person in mid-September.

Since 9 of the 15 have already stated their intention to dissolve 
the current Board, there is a very good chance that NORML will 
have a very prestigious Board of Directors by the end of 
September or early October.

In conclusion, the incident on July 23 could very well result in 
a better situation for NORML, NORML's Board of Directors, and the 
anti-prohibition movement at large if the Board decides to 
dissolve itself in mid-September.

In the meantime, NORML asks interested parties to be patient and 
wait until mid-September.  After the Board votes on this issue, 
NORML will be releasing an official, public statement on what 
happens.

Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
NORML