Jon B. Gettman (born August 20, 1957) is a marijuana rights activist, a leader of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, and a former head of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He has a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University and is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine. Gettman filed a petition in 1995 to remove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act that was eventually denied. A second petition was filed in 2002, with the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis, that remains under review by the Department of Health and Human Services. Gettman frequently publishes on the marijuana industry and is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Shenandoah University in Virginia. Education Gettman received a BA in Anthropology from the Catholic University of America and a MS in Justice, specializing in drug policy, from American University. He holds a PhD in public policy and regional economic development from George Mason University, where he is a senior fellow. In addition to his advocacy work, he is an adjunct instructor at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, teaching public administration. Advocacy Gettman is a marijuana reform activist and head of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis. A former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, he is a longtime contributor to High Times magazine, where he writes the Cannabis Column. As leader of the Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, he publishes frequently on the marijuana industry. Medical marijuana Gettman is a medical cannabis advocate. Science and the End of Marijuana Prohibition In 1999, Gettman presented a speech, Science and the End of Marijuana Prohibition, at the 12th International Conference on Drug Policy Reform. He noted that under the Controlled Substances Act, the key decision-makers on marijuana are the scientists at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, whose scientific and medical findings are binding on the Drug Enforcement Administration. Pointing out that Schedules I and II are, by law, reserved for drugs like heroin and cocaine with a "high potential for abuse," Gettman proposed that drug policy reformers use the petitioning process to "cross-examine under oath and penalty of perjury every HHS official and scientist who claims that marijuana use is as dangerous as the use of cocaine or heroin." Petitions In 1995 Gettman submitted a petition to the Drug Enforcement Administration calling