Hey guys, just wanted to e-mail you and tell you to do more Potcast shows! I am a college student in Virginia and I’ve been listening since about Potcast 140. I love the show and it’s great to listen to on long drives through the mountains of South Eastern Virginia. Even though I’m all the way on the other side of the United States I love listen to you guys and being educated about everything going on with the cannabis scene in California. Do more shows please!
- JZ
Real Women of Weed: Where Are You?
“157 Million. The number of females in the United States according to the 2010 Census. The number of males was 151.8 million.”
- infoplease.com
As of 2010, there were 6.8 million more women than men in the US and I can’t imagine that the numbers have changed much in the past two years. So why then does there seem to be a distinct lack of females in the marijuana community? It’s a trick question. There is definitely no lack of women involved in this community, but what we are almost completely devoid of is real women of substance and intelligence. I might as well say it now; I am “Anonymous” from the last posting, I am indeed a woman and I believe that with our larger numbers we could truly make an impact on this movement if we put our minds to it.
However, what we seem to have amassed in the cannabis community is a breed of ladies (and I use that term loosely, for they are no real ladies) who seem to be under the impression that being an “activist” means removing most or all of their clothing while either posing for photos or hawking mediocre marijuana-related products at various gatherings. As a woman, I cannot begin to describe how degrading and insulting this is to my intelligence.
Some of you may realize that this has become a hot topic lately, with Mickey Martin calling out so-called “activist” Coral Reefer for being a “Grow Hoe” or my personal favorite, a “bong humper” in his recent article on CannabisWarrior.com. Although I have heard from some women (many of whom are obviously friends with Coral Reefer) that they disagree with what what was written, I’d like to just take the opportunity to personally commend Mickey Martin for being one of the few distinguished males in this community to point out just how pathetic this epidemic is. Perhaps if more males in this community were man enough to admit that the onslaught of (largely unattractive) tits and ass that are invading this community weren’t helpful to the process of legalization, some of these women would think
twice about putting themselves out there in this manner. Yet, as a woman, I hesitate to rely on any males opinion to get anything done for me. I would much rather practice what I preach (which is why I hesitate to give my real name, much less photograph my bare ass with a bong) and appeal to the real Women of Weed to come forward and represent yourselves in a professional, intelligent and most of all, CLASSY manner. No more of this wandering around music festivals in just your
transparent underwear (I’m talking to YOU Kushed Out Fashions), posturing yourselves as for-rent “spokesmodels” as an excuse to wear a street-walker “uniform” with all of your cellulite on display (as the 420 Nurses do) and definitely no more of these semi-pornographic photos with some form of marijuana paraphernalia so you feel justified in your “modeling.”
I’m no feminist; I like a slutty Halloween costume just as much as the next girl. But there is a time and a place for it and while we are in the process of trying to change laws is most definitely not the time and place. I can’t imagine any politician or person in power taking these women seriously (although they may sleep with them behind their wives’ backs, but that’s another story), and if we cannot be taken seriously, what kind of chance do we stand of fulfilling our wish to legalize marijuana? We already have a stoner stereotype to combat; should we make things more difficult by having to prove we aren’t just a bunch of whores as well?
So Women of Weed, I entreat you; come forward and make yourselves known so that we can really make a change for the better in this community. We have the
numbers to really make a difference in this process and with a little work we can erase the stereotype that all we are good for in this movement is to take off our clothes.
- Elle Erin
“Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others… he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy
This April 15 marks the two year anniversary of the passing of Jack Herer, the closest thing to a deity that the marijuana community will ever have. A once in a lifetime individual whose extensive work as a pioneer of legalization made many of our freedoms today possible, Jack Herer will not be soon forgotten.
However, as I become involved in and more educated about the marijuana community and industry, I am beginning to realize what a farce all of this Jack Herer- worship is. Don’t get me wrong; I think the man deserves every ounce of credit he is given and more. He was the proverbial child in The Emperor’s New Clothes, the only man at the time willing to speak the truth to and about those in power. Without him the current movement for marijuana legalization would be nowhere near where it is today. Credit should be given where it is due and he absolutely should be celebrated as a revolutionary individual in the community. So why is it that instead of honoring his memory, so many are trying to exploit it?
In the last few years I have been blessed, as my line of work allowed me to attend many major “marijuana gatherings” and therefore really observe and learn about the marijuana community (at least in Southern California). All of my experiences with pot have been positive and the people I am accustomed to smoking it with are much the same, so I went into these events and gatherings with an idealistic assumption of what it was going to be like. Of course there are many people that I have met along the way who are doing great things for the legalization movement. Sarah Newton and Michael Jolson who work to spread awareness about CCHHI 2012, Diane Goldstein with LEAP and The Potcast who educate on all aspects of the community are a few of the positives. Unfortunately, they along with a few others are the exceptions to the rule.
The main impression that I got from attending these events wasn’t a sense of people coming together for a common goal it was a sense of greed and personal gain. For every five people out there trying to do something positive for the progress of legalization there are twenty trying to line their own pockets. Even worse, at least five of those twenty are using Jack Herer’s name for personal profit. I know that everyone needs to make a living and that the marijuana industry is a relatively fresh market. But I find it disgusting that many seem to find it okay to use his name in conjunction with events, benefits or products while saying the money is going to his family or a particular foundation… Only to find later that the money was kept by the responsible party. Is this self-serving attitude any way to celebrate a man who made it his mission to speak out against greed in his infamous book?
Contrary to what it seems in the last few paragraphs, I am not writing this just to bitch about the marijuana community in general. I do not like what I have seen so far, and as Jack once started a major movement with his book, I hope to at least start a small change in the community by writing this. For a single day this year, let everyone who supports the advancement of the legalization of marijuana do just one thing to further the movement. Whether it be signing a petition, donating to one of the acts that is trying to make it onto the ballot or simply educating yourself on the current issues of the community, let us truly make April 15 Jack Herer day and honor The Hemperor of Hemp by helping to realize his dream.
- Anonymous