Marijuana-related law attorney Moe Spencer discussed the history and current state of marijuana law on a national and state level as a part of UWO Speaker Series, at Reeve Memorial Union on Thursday.

Spencer is the principal attorney at his law office in Everett, WA, where he works with growers looking for licenses as well as out-of-state criminal cases.

Spencer discussed the details of his work with marijuana law in his lecture as well as the history behind marijuana becoming illegal in the United States.

“Many people don’t know the history of marijuana becoming illegal and the reasons behind it.” Spencer said.

In his presentation, Spencer said the illegalization of marijuana was heavily due to the fear of counter-culture during President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign.

“Nixon knew the youth and African-American people at the time held a powerful part of the vote, so arresting them for drug charges would be an effective way of silencing them,” Spencer said.

Spencer said giving these talks is important because this issue is so important in today’s political climate.

“I like speaking at colleges because I have a certain amount of knowledge on this from doing my work for so long, and I have information many people don’t know,” Spencer said. “I think it’s important for everyone to have this information and make their own decisions on the issue.”

Spencer said he isn’t trying to sway people in his lectures but just state the facts.

“In this talk, I’m not trying to advocate or convince people what to believe,” Spencer said. “I really just like to share what I do and let you decide for yourself.”

UWO student Hunter Armstrong said the discussion helped him understand the details of how legalizing marijuana would work if it happened in Wisconsin.

“It’s really not something simple that can happen and that for a major law like this to be changed you have to get a majority of your state behind it.” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said this is a subject he follows closely, so having someone like Spencer come to campus was something he enjoyed seeing.

“I’m personally invested in the matter,” Armstrong said. “I would like to see things like medical marijuana legalized, so hearing Mr. Spencer speak was very informative for me.”

Speaker Series committee member Luke Johnson said he was extremely excited to have Spencer speak on campus.

“We thought that Moe would be a good fit here in Oshkosh because it’s a controversial issue, and it’s something that would provoke a lot of conversation on campus.” Johnson said.

Johnson said a subject like this one is important for students to understand due to its role in the political world today.

“Whether you stand on the side of legalization or not, I feel that a lot of Oshkosh students would benefit from that type of conversation.” Johnson said. “Seeing that it’s such a big topic in both the United States and around the world right now.”

Spencer said he began speaking at universities almost by chance, but now it’s an important part of what he does.

“I just started speaking at panels before I was asked to come speak at a school,” Spencer said. “Now I speak at schools all over the country, and I love sharing my work.”