As more and more of the world starts to accept that maybe cannabis isn’t the most evil substance in existence, cannabis activism becomes more and more important. We’ve started to make headway in a number of places, but there is still a massive amount of the planet that insists on keeping weed on the illegal side. Unfortunately activism isn’t the easiest thing to just jump head first into. You may not have a huge amount of time, money or other resources available to you. You might not know where to start, which organisations make the most difference, or if you could begin locally. I may not be able to sort you out with answers to all of these issues, but I can certainly help you figure them out for yourself. Let’s have a look at how a beginner can get meaningfully involved in cannabis activism.
Why Is Cannabis Activism Important?
For those of you out there who maybe don’t fully understand how cannabis activism has a knock on effect, let’s give it a quick once over. The fact that cannabis is illegal in the first place has a plethora of racist and classist origins. A while ago I wrote an article on the racist beginnings of the word ‘marijuana’ which shed a lot of light on the subject. Even today cannabis laws are used to imprison certain members of the public but not others. The war on drugs was created to keep minorities down and to ensure that they were effectively removed from society. Unfortunately there are still a lot of issues in our social systems that have stemmed from that. For example an analysis of cannabis arrests in New York in 2020 found that 94% of those arrested were people of colour.
A 2021 analysis of arrests in Milwaukee found that people of colour were 4.9 times more likely to be convicted after a cannabis arrest than their white counterparts.
Legalising cannabis would also take a huge amount of money away from crime syndicates that use selling weed illegally as a base for more sinister operations. By legalising we take away money from potentially dangerous drugs, human trafficking and weapons dealing.
Legalisation would also lead to greater public understanding of drugs which has been proven to reduce advanced drug use at young ages and the overall number of overdoses.
I could go on indefinitely but I don’t want to run out of space. Essentially campaigning for cannabis legalisation isn’t just so you can freely smoke when you feel like it.
What Makes An Activist?
We tend to think of activists as people who take to the streets and demand change, but this isn’t necessarily true. Though marches and protests can be extremely valuable in campaigning for change, it isn’t the only way that you can get involved. Activism is about using your actions to create positive change in society. Participation is key, no matter how small. Of course, there have been many great cannabis activists through the years such as Jack Herer and Beth Moore who publicly spoke out and rallied for the legalisation of cannabis. These people dedicated their lives to a cause, and for those of us that can’t realistically do that it can be daunting. Some may say you need to give everything to the cause, but honestly I think that simply puts people off helping in small and meaningful ways.
How Can You Help?
Vote
This very much depends on which part of the world you live in but honestly one of the most basic answers to this question is vote. If you don’t pay attention to your political parties and use your vote to attempt to bring in a party that supports your cause, then nothing is going to happen. This isn’t just about considering primary candidates on your own and choosing a favourite. You can likely find pro cannabis political groups in your area that may be able to help you understand which parties are the most likely to affect change in the future. As I mentioned earlier, public education is key to legalisation. Using your vote to improve the chances of that is the least you can do as a cannabis activist.
Letter Writing and Petitions
These methods are usually used by pro cannabis groups to show governments how loudly the people are clamouring for legalisation. By sending well signed petitions and carefully written letters to a variety of government officials you are showing how interested in the topic the public currently is. The more that people and groups write to officials about topics the more likely they are to be noticed and the more likely that you will get a response. Again this may not lead to immediate or clear action but being a part of the masses demanding change is still activism.
Go Online
As great as physical campaigning is, most stuff happens online now. By creating online petitions that can be emailed out to massive groups, starting discussions on social media, contacting important figures by twitter etc. you can be part of a much larger type of change. If you’re struggling finding like minded people to great groups with then you’ll find it much easier online than in your immediate local community. You can then use these online connections to move towards more meaningful physical action.
Donations
Unfortunately, money is one of the biggest creators for change, not just with cannabis activism but pretty much everything. Every cause needs funding and if you can even give a little towards it that can make a big difference. There are specific groups online like Last Prisoner Project or Marijuana Policy Project that desperately need funding and are doing incredible work.
Get Out There
Of course, the classic way to be an activist is to take to the streets. Look out for local peaceful protests, handing out information about legalisation, attending rallies and a variety of other activities can really lead to change.
No matter what there is always some small way that you can affect change.
Written by Tasha Porritt
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Thank you for this post and the time you put into the blog, I have looked at a few of the posts you guys make and do not see much discussion unless it is a giveaway so I thought I would reply.
I think the biggest factor here to act upon is ” Use your vote” we can really make a difference and once a party who’s mandate includes the legalization, decriminalisation or drug reform policies is in a position to act upon it, we then need to remind them of it until change happens.
The world is changing its attitude’s for the better and we will see the day come, let’s just hope it’s sooner rather than later.
Anyway just my 2p’s worth lol.
Legalize
Great post.
I think many people are wary of commenting cos if someone is arrested for something non-weed related, the police have a tendency to examine every detail of online usage and maybe they don’t want to make themselves vulnerable.