NORML Remembers Mikel Weisser

Longtime political activist Mikel Weisser, who served as State Director of Arizona NORML, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. He was 61 years old.

Mikel became Arizona NORML’s State Director in 2015. He was passionate in his reform advocacy endeavors, stating that “his main devotion is, and has been, advancing the work of Arizona NORML.” He was especially proud of the group’s successful efforts to reform the state’s medical cannabis access laws and was working on the state initiative to legalize marijuana at the time of his passing.

Born and raised in rural south Texas near the Rio Grande border, Mikel worked a variety of labor jobs during his youth alongside illegal immigrants, and saw the way these hardworking laborers were often exploited.

In his life, Mikel lived in poverty and experienced homelessness. At the age of 30, he encountered the equalizing power of education when he returned to college to acquire an M.A. from the University of Illinois at Springfield followed by an M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University. Mikel taught middle school in Western Arizona before becoming a full-time activist in 2012.