BETH CURTIS

Beth Curtis is the founder of Life for Pot & Release Nonviolent Drug Offenders. 

She earner her MSW from Ohio State University, but for most of her career worked as the Financial Agent for a small Profit Sharing and small Pension Plan.  She also have served on governing boards of not for profit organizations, schools, vocational schools, foundations and a regional health care system.  

In 1994 her family became educated about the War on Drugs and the US Justice System.  Her brother, John Knock,  was sentenced to two life sentences for  a non-violent marijuana only offense. He had no previous convictions. 

Beth started to look for other inmates with sentences of this magnitude for nonviolent marijuana offenses when her brother’s appeals were completed in 2008.   

She put up a web site lifeforpot.com and asked people to contact her if they had a similar sentence or knew of someone who did.  This was the genesis of Life for Pot.

After this initial effort, Life for Pot spent time and resources on mailings to Congress, activist groups, and professionals in the social justice community raising awareness that these egregious sentences were being served by nonviolent marijuana offenders.  It was surprising that so many did not know this was a possible sentence for nonviolent marijuana offenders.  This is a continuing effort.

Beth has always lived in the mid-west and has three grown boys.