My Message for Today:

Today I would like to correct some misconceptions. Society at large tends to perceive cannabis users as the dregs of humanity wasting away in their own filth, uneducated and of the criminal mindset. I myself have been judged harshly because of my support and association with the MMJ community and because of my personal beliefs and choices.

Which of my associates and friends fit the preconceived notions of a cannabis user and criminal? Is it the husband, father, grandfather and founder of the grassroots human rights group who fights for patients worldwide? Perhaps the young mother who teach her children about farming and healthy living while working at a nursery . Maybe its the civic-minded cartoonist with the life threatening disease that fights daily to save the city he loves from crime, corruption and economic disaster? Or the lovely elderly couple up North who opened their home to me on more than one occasion? No, it must be the retired pediatric oncology nurse whose deteriorating body causes her untold agony.

Wait… I figured it out. Its Me. The single mother, the teacher, the service member, the friend, the lover, the child. I am that criminal. I love, and support others. I try to stand up for those who need a voice and have none. I fight for others. I stand up and speak out against injustice when I see it. I teach my children to love and live and speak out for what they believe in. Many of you know me personally and have known me for years, if not decades. You know the child I was and the woman I became. You grew up with me, watched me, played and learned with me. You may have taught me, or helped raise me.

I am the same woman I was before You learned I was a Cannabis patient. Will you support the woman I am? Will you share my message?