California Moms Call for an End to Pot Prohibition

This week, we saw a group of Chicago moms arising victorious over public school officials in winning a library for their children. As James Clark reports on the Criminal Justice blog, another group in California is putting their Supermom powers to work in fighting for another issue: marijuana legalization.

I'll admit: when I think California moms and pot, the first thing that springs to mind is Weeds, the T.V. series about a suburban mom who turns to drug dealing to pay the bills. But we're not talking fiction here. With California set to vote on Prop 19, marijuana legalization, these moms are speaking up in support for the sake of the children.

Okay, so maybe calling for a children's library seems more like a mom-esque activity than promoting pot legalization. After all, as Clark points out, three-quarters of a century ago, women were at the forefront of the push for alcohol prohibition, a failed amendment that was swiftly repealed. But these moms have learned the lessons of bootleggers and moonshine and realized that pot prohbition hasn't kept it out of the hands of children. It's just causing more problems for our nation's youth. And it's definitely a big issue for concerned moms to tackle.

Gretchen Burns Bergman, A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing) co-founder and executive director, points out that the extensive black market in marijuana makes it easier to access than regulated drugs. "If you ask any kid in high school what's the easiest drug for them to get their hands on, they're going to say marijuana. Easier than tobacco. Easier than alcohol." Meanwhile, money spent on pot fuels a solid half of the Mexican drug war, a cause of human trafficking and serious violence and instability over the border, when it could go to legal local growers and be taxed for the benefit of the United States.

Moreover, because of our misguided war on drugs, much of our nation's youth face fines, miss out on student loans, lose jobs, or land in jail just for smoking a joint — a drug safer than alcohol that 100 million Americans have tried. Wait, let's be honest: much of our nation's minority and poor youth. The "war on drugs" and the U.S. government's reefer madness disproportionately impacts those who are already disadvantaged, setting them back even further.

These California moms aren't the only women working against unjust pot laws: the Women's Marijuana Movement (WMM), is a national organization that wants to see marijuana rehabilitated, pointing out that, unlike alcohol, marijuana is not linked to domestic violence and sexual assault, because it's just so mellow. And don't forget the health benefits of medical marijuana. (Pot legalization isn't a party line issue either: WMM was co-founded by a mother and conservative activist.)

So when moms call for an end to pot prohibition? Yeah, that's an issue worthy of their Supermom powers.

Photo credit: thivierr