By: Serra J. Frank – Moms for Marijuana
I am the founder of Moms for Marijuana and I support the NORML Women’s Alliance (NWA) in their fight for the educated regulation of Marijuana. Along with the NWA, Moms for Marijuana proudly represents like-minded mothers from all walks of life. On Mother’s Day, the NORML Women’s Alliance will introduce you to a couple of Moms for Marijuana by highlighting several stories of mothers and grandmothers who hold their heads up high and proudly say “I am a mom for Marijuana.”
A lesson of history is that people enjoy altering their state of mind. History has also shown us that the prohibition of any substance is not beneficial to society and creates a violent and dangerous black market; which opens a gateway that allows our children to easily obtain these substances.
Society tolerates drug use such as alcohol and tobacco. The taxes from these substances help our schools and our communities. Open access gives adults a safe source for obtaining their drug of choice, despite the health and social ramifications that come from the decision to consume these drugs. Alcohol and tobacco consumption creates an industry that generates hundreds of billions of dollars and employs millions of people each year. Regulation and restrictions make these substances more difficult for our children to obtain.
Research has shown that Cannabis (Marijuana) is a safer alternative to drinking alcohol or using tobacco. Yet we continue to drive sensible adults to choose a more harmful substance because of Marijuana’s legal standing; and make criminals out of those who only wish to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Our country’s policies regarding the Cannabis plant are clearly misguided, uneducated and futile. Continuing to allow the enforcement of hypocritical and detrimental laws as well as tolerating failed policies is destructive to our society and the wrong message to send to our children. By avoiding discussion and change, we condemn them to repeat the mistakes of our past.
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Support the NORML Women’s Alliance on Facebook at www.facebook.com/normlwomen
love the NWA idea. You have my support. My 21yr old son is in MN. He supports and believes like I do. Main reason I support? It has saved my life. I’m on disability and need it to become legal in Arizona.
I find it sad that you think it healthy and desireable for children and teens to “alter their state of mind.” (since you present yourself as a mom, I have to assume this is what you believe even though you don’t state that specifically). I sincerely hope that your children don’t become addicted or slip down the slope to other drug use since they have a mom who promotes getting high. Good luck to you and your family.
Hear hear!!! I was a Maiden, then a Mother, and now a Crone (Grandmother) add to that a recent cancer survivor and I am proud to stand up and say “I’m a Mom for Marijuana.” History has shown us that when we women stand together to right unjustice we can move mountains. It’s time to stand ladies… it is time to stand.
You would think Moms would prefer their children to not go to jail and not be denied financial aid for school.
As an off topic\color note viewing the article the caveman in me thought http://www.MILFs4Marijuana.com could be a comercial success also…
While I am dubious of how effective all these little different social divisions are at helping to Reform Marijuana laws, they do, at the very least, help squash the notion that only hippies with long hair and who say “dude” a lot are the only ones who want marijuana law reform.
Which is actually very important so keep up the good work!
re;
“History has also shown us that the prohibition of
–any substance–
is not beneficial to society and creates a violent and dangerous black market; which opens a gateway that allows our children to easily obtain these substances.”
so true.
i wish there was a N.O.R.D.L.
National Org. (for) Reform (of ALL) Drug Laws…
end prohibition all at once,
freedom for ALL !!
perhaps norml could start a ‘sister’ org. to promote this.
#2 Well crafted straw man attack. Kudos on your passive aggressive technique.
These same agreements are used to try and sway women, and most parents for that matter, into legislating away the *future* rights of their children all the time. And people sadly buy into it.
Yes, support it now for the children, but dont forget you need to help shape the world they will live in for the majority of their lives.
Good parenting protects children. Sound lawmaking ensures them a place to become good parents themselves.
Hannity is discussing marijuana legalization tonight 9 p.m. Eastern on FOX News…
Should be interesting… “you’ve got to be high”…
Hey Helen! Dont be an idiot! This for those that choose to do so. Do I write stuff about the way you raise your family? Do I comment on the way your kids are raised? Alcohol is legal, does everyone drink? NO! Cigaretts kill thousands of people, and they are still legal, does everyone smoke them? NO! Its about the right to consume somethings thats not nearly as harmful as the aformentioned, and about the conspiracy thats going on with the pharmaceutical companies. Im sure if the doctors prescribed your kids Zoloft, or Ridalin you would give it to them, right? Like I said dont be an IDIOT!
Helen, maybe you should read the article before placing judgment on someone. I agree completely with this cause and I am a father of 2 beautiful little girls with another on the way. These moms aren’t saying they are in support of their children getting high. If you would have read the above it stated in the article the legalization of marijuana would make it harder for our children to get their hands on it. I support legalization so that as a parent I don’t have to worry about my girls smoking pot when they are 12 or even younger. In today’s times it is easier for our kids to get their hands on pot than a pack of cigarettes. If marijuana is legalized then it could be better controlled and kept out of the hands of our youth. Any legitimate business owner is not going to sell to our kids because of the risk of losing their business but please tell me what does a dealer who is already breaking the law have to lose? There will always be dealers willing to sell to our children as long as marijuana remains illegal. When my girls are 21 if they want to light up it’s no different to me than them taking a drink. I feel as an adult they can make their own decisions. Until that time I would like to think I have done everything I can to keep it out of their hands and you should do the same for your children. Honestly as a parent I would rather my children smoke marijuana at 21 than drink because it doesn’t cause the physical damage to their body that drinking does and marijuana is far less inhibiting. No one has ever woken up in the morning and not remembered the night before from smoking pot. Will there be underage smoking just like there is underage drinking now-yes, kids will always find a way to do something they are not supposed to but why should we ruin their life with a criminal record when we don’t do the same for alcohol?
well now, lets not pick on alcohol or any drug for that matter considering a drug is actually just a chemical made of elements not different than vitamins or anything else we consume abusing any substances doesn’t matter if its crack,heroin,food, or any other thing on the planet that contains desirable effects. Im a free man and i shall not deny myself anything. The properties of smoke are and always will be extremely unhealthy when you smoke all the time.Same as alcohol it can be safe fun and very beneficial for you mind and body just as pot is and hey every once in a while throw in some yeyo. We cant rid ourselves of black market dealers if they still have something to sell at a competitive price. Finally helen, do you like sounding like a intrusive snob. If you think your a better parent what look at your own children cus your bad strict parenting is going to show up in your children 20 years down the road as mental disorder. Dont let the lies youve been retarded by be passed on.
Helen must think that the tactics of the drug free 80s still works when it comes to her kind. I’m sorry, but that worn out tactic of judging a book by its cover just doesn’t play nowadays. I mean, what you said can be compared very easily to someone stereotyping our Pres. and saying that the majority of Americans wanted tobacco to become readily available to our kids because he smokes. Please actually read the article first before you comment again, because really, you look like a complete fool and your acting like a neusome jackass.
Kurt #5
What’s that supposed to mean? Yeah, okay, pot’s illegal – so what? So is not wearing a seatbelt in the car. Do you see raids on the freeway of drivers not having their’s on? No – and that’s more dangerous than a little grass. Also, if you get caught going 10 over the speed limit, do the police take away your freedom, children, house, voting rights, gun rights, and educational assistance? Why not – it’s more hazardous to both the driver and every other driver on the road. Yet, pot has hurt absolutely zero in the six thousand years of it’s cultivation and use.
#10 – I saw that. He interviewed the NM governor – something Johnson, I think. All I got to say is, I like this guy. He’s like Ron Paul, new and improved. I mean, he just fits with everybody. He seems to me to be a Libretarian, but he is a Republican. He has a nice, solid platform that I think will carry him to and possibly through the election. If he runs, I will officially register as a repub. in 2012, because I really want this guy in the White House, so we can have our nation back. We need to throw every ounce (no pun there) of our support directly at this man. This is the guy we have been waiting nearly a century for, trust me.
I will be having a very merry 420 mom’s day! ya’ll keep up the vigilance and hard work. there is too many of us to ignore the legalization completely anymore. We are the college grad, the corp. CEO, the teacher at school. Its time for them to hear us out and discuss it so that it isnt simply just hanging in the air.
@Toni Carey. Amen. Marijuana use is so widespread in the white collar educated demographic. No one wants to stand up and say legalize it because they have too much to lose and besides- they can get it freely, anytime. Why march in the streets? I still feel stigmatized and I am certainly a high achieving individual and a proponent of legalization. I too created a website called http://www.MaryJaneMoms.com where I’d like to have this discussion. I’d like to hear from all of the high achievers who are (ha I just noticed my pun)for legalization of marijuana and use it frequently/infrequently but who are highly successful in their fields. MaryJane Dads are encouraged to talk too :>)
Moms4Marijuana website draws thousands. And just in time for Mother’s Day, a pot legalization group in Denver has created a pink-carnation web card asking moms to support legalization.
These marijuana moms argue that pot is no worse than alcohol, that teens shouldn’t face jail time for experimenting with it and that marijuana can even help new mothers treat postpartum depression.
“I know so many mothers who support this but aren’t willing to come out and say it,” said Sabrina Fendrick, head of the Women’s Alliance at the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.
Marijuana activists say they need more moms to publicly back pot use if they are to succeed with public officials.
“The mother is the first teacher, who you turn to for direction in life,” said Serra Frank, a 27-year-old mother of two in Boise, Idaho, who founded Moms4Marijuana in 2005. It has no formal membership, but Frank says its website has had more than 12,000 visitors.
Pot activists say both genders sometimes find it easier to attend protests or lobby lawmakers about pot than to tell their mothers they smoke weed. So legalization groups hope that if moms, arguably the nation’s most powerful lobby, get on board with making pot legal, laws will change in a hurry.
“All the things moms get behind, people listen,” said Diane Irwin, 48, a medical marijuana grower in southern Colorado who also is a mother of two.
There’s still a marijuana gender gap. According to an Associated Press-CNBC poll released last month, women opposed legalization in greater numbers than men. Just under half — 48 percent — of male poll respondents opposed legalization to 63 percent of women.
“We have enough problems with alcohol. I feel if we legalized it, it would make people say it’s OK,” said 37-year-old mother Amanda Leonard of St. Augustine. Fla., one of the poll respondents
Trying to soften moms up a bit, Denver-based Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, is asking members to “come out” about their pot use this Mother’s Day and argue that pot is safer than booze. The group says it has about 20,000 members nationwide
I am a mother with a long history with “mary jane”. I also have a college education, 2 homes (one in U.S. and one in Jamaica), I am an active member in my church, I have 2 bright and beautiful children, both on the honor roll every quarter, both on 1st string of any sports they play, I donate time to help in their sports money rasing events, married, never been divorced, never been to jail (yes, never), I do not have problems with alcohol, cigs, or other drugs. We are a normal, happy family, who mom and dad relaxes from time to time with some good ganga. So Helen, what is your problem with me, because your lame excuse of getting my children high does’nt work with me. My children don’t know their parents relax this way, we keep it from them, but in turn, they know its not as bad as alcohol or cigs, and people who smoke are not criminals, even our laws say we are. I despertly want marijuana legalized so my children cannot get it until they are 21, like alcohol, and I strongly agree with #12, dad. I know I will be relaxing on Mothers day, and not with alcohol!
“We have enough problems with alcohol. I feel if we legalized it, it would make people say it’s OK,” said 37-year-old mother Amanda Leonard of St. Augustine. Fla., one of the poll respondents”
I do not understand what Amamnda is saying. We KNOW that Cannabis is safer. It sounds like she is saying she does not want alcohol as well. That is valid. Why would she want a poison you can drink and can kill you to be available since it has so many problems. The answer is in a Free society where we have freedom to research our choices, we should be free to do what we want as long as it does not harm anyone else. I support legal alchol and I do not drink. I have done my research and choose not to. I feel safer knowing my little girl will not be exposed to alcohol through a black market. That is another big part of the problem. By creating a black market, my children are much less safer than if it was regulated and treated as a health issue not an enforcement issue.
You got it right this time The Truth Doctor.
In my opinion, how is it that any individual can hide their enjoyment of cannabis because they “have so much to lose” is a mystery to me. Surely these people do not have a conscious and allow harmless individuals to bear their burden; “one of their own”.
Prohibition would be over if only those who dare not reveal their use of cannabis would come forward.
ok then lets do somethin about it come on now !
@the truth doctor – great info- I have read that women activists during alcohol prohibition times were ultimately the tipping point factor. Kudos to the SAFER group. The Colorado socio/political environment is a bit more hospitable to the idea of legalizing marijuana than the one I live in. Where I live, secrecy is the way.
@Mary Jane Moms.. And don’t forget about us grand parents too! I’m very worried about my grand children getting caught up in the adventures and agony of this prohibition. Even though I’m a “legal” MMJ patient it needs to be legal to protect our kids and grand kids. I was busted in the 60’s and it wasn’t easy trying to overcome my record not to mention the mental scars. I was lucky and recovered. It’ll be much harder for a young person trying to succeed these days with a nasty “drug” record.
Thanks for your support and courage!
Every single substance that we take into our bodies affects us and is part of the normal wear and tear of human life.The food that you feed your children is affecting them as much or more than the pot they smoke. Maybe we should outlaw sugar.
Serra I love you girl, thank you for everything you’ve done to help me threw what we have went threw lately. For someone who didn’t know me at all to support us so much I want you to know it’s much appreciated and I love you! Thank you princess and happy mothers day!
about the conspiracy thats going on with the pharmaceutical companies.
it’s not about Big Pharma, it’s about replacing outlawed slave labor with prison labor.
Read http://tinyurl.com/1mn
Well, there it was, you didn’t have to look another foot as you went from state to state right on the floor of the state legislature. And so what was the genesis for the early state marijuana laws in the Rocky Mountain and southwestern areas of this country? It wasn’t hostility to the drug, it was hostility to the newly arrived Mexican community that used it.
effect agreement live ces offset 2001
Luke, your’e preaching to the choir. I was just saying other Mom’s not the in the article id worried about thier kids doing marijuana should worry more about them getting arrested for it, than doing it…
Moms, what is the heads-up on marijuana use during pregnancy? I am a single guy age 53 never married, however I have known at least two young couples where she smoked to help with morning sickness and he smoked to. I have looked up some other web-sites on marijuana and birth defects, most studies say use during pregnancy causes problems but the drug policy alliance web-site says there were no links to marijuana use and birth defects. I am no doctor but I have sat with these ” marijuana childern” myself and the kids seemed alright. I would like to hear from some moms here with real-world experience on this subject. Thanks,
[Paul Armentano responds: We have a lit review on this subject published here:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=8060.%5D
The first time my mom smoked I had just gotten back from Vietnam and I managed to make it home with some really good Thia stick. It totally changed her mind about smoking pot. She passed away ten years ago. I miss her everyday. She was very proud of my membership in NORML and she thought it should be legal to smoke. To all of the strong women in this movement I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really hope my mom’s dream of legal pot comes true. It will with your outspoken help.
Making marijuana legal would make for a healthier America because it is so much safer than tobacco or alcohol. I know the government has given their brief reasons why marijuana should not be legalized; however, all that has been disproven. I’d much rather be on the roadway with one who smokes marijuana than one who has consumed alcohol. I’m just 71, so I’ve been the observer of many things past and present.
Madelin Hardman, Author of “Grandma Weed” “A Lot to do About Nothing”.
I am delighted that the group such as “Moms for Marijuana”, which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago, actually exists and is active in promoting understanding and knowledge, in destroying old stereotypes resulting from decades of scare-tactics and disinformation. We all heard repeatedly that marijuana use is much safer than alcohol, that there has not been one single fatal outcome from its use in all the 10,000+ years of its use, and that there is no such thing as physical withdrawal syndrome resulting from marijuana use.
But what I believe will prove crucial for the advancement of “Moms for Marijuana” courageous agenda is that marijuana use has been shown to suppress violence! And violence plays such a huge destructive role in young people on a daily basis! What I also consider very important from the medical point of view is that once we have shown that cannabis use suppresses violence, it is easy to take one more step and show that cannabis use will be a barrier to alcohol and hard drug use because those substances are “conducive” to violent behavior in sharp contrast to marijuana that suppresses it. As I always say, The most effective weapon against ignorance is Knowledge, and Moms for Marijuana seem to be armed with knowledge, which will make them intellectually victorious to any and all opposition.
Hay Serra I know you and I think its awesome what your doing. You have my support for the reform of marijuana law.
I am a mom of two wonderful little boys and I smoke marijuana. My children are intelligent, well-rounded children. They never have behavioral issues and are kind and compassionate friends to their classmates.
The problem with many of the non-supporters out there is that they have lumped all pot smokers into one genre. We don’t all sit on our couch playing video games eating cheetos(not that there is anything wrong with that). Many of us are productive, educated individuals, who instead of drinking occasionally like to smoke(I prefer vape) pot.
The biggest problem I have with marijuana being illegal is the bottomless pit that taxpayers dollars are being poured into. We will never conquer the war on drugs. The market is to great and the dealers are only becoming a more violent force. Our hard earned money would be better spent on issues that can improve our way of life, such as clean, sustainable living practices.
I know that some people will read this and think oh great another hippie mom for marijuana and that’s fine. I have learned that it is very difficult to change some individuals minds. I however have committed to raising my children to be open minded. I will always teach them that it is okay to question something that you feel is wrong. What kind of example would I be if I did not stand up for that belief. Furthermore, I want my children to feel like the government that runs the country in which they live is capable of learning from it’s mistakes (aka prohibition).
I am totally for this. I am a regular pot smoker, amazing mother, wonderful wife, teacher with highest state test exam scores, loving sister and daughter. I just enjoying relaxing at the end of the day. Nuthin wrong with dat!
THANK YOU SERRA FOR BEING SO OPEN AND HONEST. ONE LOVE MY FRIEND