NEWS RELEASE

Immediate: March 25, 2019

Debate:
Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

April 8

Garden City, NY – Nassau Community College will host the debate Should Marijuana Be Legalized? on Monday, April 8 at 12:30 p.m. in room 252-253 of the College Center Building.

For
Erik Altieri, the Director of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
and

Against
Alex Berenson, former New York Times reporter and author of Tell Your Children, about the link between teenage marijuana use, mental illness, and violence.

After graduating from Yale University in 1994, Alex Berenson joined the Denver Post as a reporter. In 1996, he became one of the first employees at TheStreet.com, the groundbreaking financial news website. In 1999, Berenson joined The New York Times, where he covered everything from the drug industry to Hurricane Katrina. In 2003 and 2004, he served two stints as a correspondent in Iraq, an experience that led him to write The Faithful Spy, his debut novel, which won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel.  Berenson left the Times in 2010 to devote himself to writing fiction. But conversations with his wife led him to begin researching the science around cannabis and mental illness, a project that became the book Tell Your Children, published in January 2019.

Erik Altieri oversees NORML's federal efforts and works on strategy for its many state and local chapters around the county. His previous work for NORML includes federal and state lobbying, legislative outreach, social media networking and managing its PAC. NORML advocates for the legalization of marijuana.  

Should Marijuana Be Legalized?  is free, open to the public and accessible to the disabled. For more information about this program, call 516.572.7148.

About Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College is an institution where nearly 19,000 full-time, part-time, Workforce Development and continuing education students start and continue their successful journey through higher education. Nearly 80 fields of study are offered on a 225-acre campus located in the center of Long Island. As the largest single-campus two-year college in New York State SUNY System, Nassau Community College maintains a national reputation for excellence. For more information, visit www.ncc.edu.

Media Contact
Kate Murray 516.572.0611; kathleen.murray@ncc.edu

ncc.edu/newsreleases

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