Carl Sagan's Wife Ann Druyan President of NORML

This is excerpt from a set of question sent to Mrs. Druyan on Reddit by the "Trees" community for which she was more than happy to respond.  

When do you believe the federal laws against marijuana will be repealed?I am probably the wrong person to ask this question, having foolishly believed for decades that sane national drug policy was just around the corner. You know when Pat Robertson starts asking "Why are we locking people up for having a couple of joints?" that national drug policy is way behind the curve.

What is the best thing an individual activist can do to help your cause other than writing congressional leaders?Join and support NORML working tirelessly for you for forty years.

Many feel that the idea of starting with medicinal marijuana is not the way to go about legalization. Some people want to see marijuana treated as a recreational drug, similar to alcohol, as procuring a prescription drug without a prescription is a crime; What are your thoughts on the matter of legal medicinal versus legal recreational?Our most immediate concern must be with those who are suffering from illnesses and treatments (chemotherapy, radiation) that marijuana has demonstrated efficacy to relieve. Beyond that, I do not believe that the government has the right, nor is it in society's longterm interest to punish people for victimless crimes.

Given the stigma surrounding marijuana, How do you begin to re-shape the general public's view?It would be good for people to be generally more honest about their usage. If you only discover someone's use of marijuana in the context of an arrest, the negative association for people who have no experience with marijuana is a natural one. Lying and hypocrisy are what's shameful. I thought Lady Gaga handled the question recently on "60 Minutes" with exemplary candor.

Do you support the legalization and/or decriminalization of any other drugs besides marijuana? If not, what makes marijuana unique? If so, what drugs and why?If governments and schools would disseminate information that scrupulously reflected scientific understanding rather than half-truths and scare tactics, more people, including the young, would take what they have to say seriously. Not everyone, of course, but a much higher percentage. We have failed at teaching people which drugs should truly be avoided and which drugs are least harmful, nor anything regarding the sacramental nature of healthy drug usage along the lines of our ancestors' practices for perhaps the last couple of hundred thousand years. Drug use is bound up with lying, secrecy, fear, hypocrisy, shame--all the things that eat away at human relationships. Just as in the days of alcohol prohibition there has been a parting of the ways between public conduct and government policy. Solid citizens are criminalized and respect for law is systematically undermined. Right now I think the abuse of legal prescription drugs poses a far greater threat to our society, and especially our kids, than those which are forbidden.
Until next time. . .

Wow... What an incredible lady!