womyn and marijuana....

with 8 million womyn admitting to smoking marijuana in america in a survey taken late 2009, it's no wonder the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (otherwise known as NORML) launched its' womyn's alliance last thursday, with the executive director stating: “The prominent role of women in the effort to end marijuana prohibition is pivotal, necessary, and long overdue. According to recent national opinion polls by Gallup and others, the dramatic rise in the public’s support of marijuana law reform is being driven primarily by an increase in support among America’s women. The NORML Women’s Alliance will bring a contemporary approach to the public policy debate, and will proudly represent the interests of modern, mainstream women who believe that the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition far outweigh any repercussions from marijuana consumption itself.” read more here...

and the position taken by the alliance...

"1. The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that the fiscal priorities of marijuana prohibition are wasting billions of dollars on a failed policy.

2. The NORML Women’s Alliance believes that marijuana prohibition violates states’ rights, and improperly expands the reach of government into the families and personal lives of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

3. The NORML Women’s Alliance advocates for an open, honest conversation about marijuana with America’s youth that is void of all propaganda and misleading information.

4. The NORML Women’s Alliance endorses the science-based evidence regarding the therapeutic applications of medical marijuana as well as the continuation of research into the subject.

5. The NORML Women’s Alliance strongly opposes the sexual exploitation and objectification of women in pot-culture and business marketing."

'marie claire' has also taken an interest in the topic, and published an article called 'stilletto stoners' in october 2009 - i'm not 'enamoured' with the terminology they use in the article, but the gist of it makes for interesting reading... you can read it here or watch an interview on NBC featuring the editor-in-chief of the magazine...

According to David Ford, author of  'marijuana: not guilty as charged'

"In ten thousand years of use there is not one recorded death from the overdose or toxicity of cannabis. Compare that with alcohol, which kills more than 100,000 American's each year. Or with nicotine products that kill more than 400,000 annually. Or with the FDA-approved, so-called "safe drugs" listed in the physicians' Desk Reference, (PDR), which cause the death of another 100,000 each year, and put one million Americans in the hospital annually as a result of toxicity or overdose."

surely with marijuana having no attributable deaths to it - compared with alcohol (and closer to home according to the the south australian government's alcohol-related statistics over 3000 Australians die each year as a result of harmful drinking) - and with a growing list of medical uses and clinical applications of cannabis and its constituents - one of them ironically being the treatment of alcohol abuse - the 'war on cannabis' can't really be sustained any longer...

it's quite heartening to hear so many womyn are preferring to go home to a joint or bong rather than a glass of wine or whatever variation of alcohol, a drug worse than many because it can do so much damage in so many ways (and i know this 'first hand' - i lived with an alcoholic for years)...

as marijuana has been my drug of choice for decades - and, as with all dope smokers, i live under the constant threat of being busted (and that's aside from its exorbitant cost!!!) - i'm hopeful the debate will start to be had seriously here in australia in the foreseeable future - it's way overdue!!!!

oooh, looks like those hoary old 'pothead' stereotypes might finally get dispelled... in reality dope smokers are fully functioning, intelligent, rational people able to maintain careers, social and personal relationships, and live comfortable lifestyles... who woulda' thought??!!!!

and of course there's the propoganda of marijuana being a 'gateway drug' - there are so many articles out there refuting this but it's been such a long, widespread campaign to 'demonize' marijuana - to keep it illegal and part of the lucrative black market...

and let's not forget, not everything legal is right,

nor everything illegal wrong...

some issues depend on what vested interests are involved and what they stand to lose...

justice has always been a rare outcome of our legal system!!!