May 21, 2012

Volume 1, Issue 1

Monthly News Letter

Special Interest Articles:

• DEA makes a BIG

mistake • Great Women • Good Girls • Poem of the Month • History • News & Events • Women’s Health • Recipe of the

month • NWA Mission

Statement • Message from the

Editor

Welcome Ladies

DEA forgets student in cell for

five days By Swiftshauna

Okay sisters this is why

we need to be active in

legalization and

decriminalization. This

falsified, money making,

scheme called “The War

on Drugs” is hurting our

sons, our daughters, our

husbands, our fathers, our

mothers, our brothers and

our sisters.

It is time for these

atrocities to end! Case in

point Mr. Chong a young

college student who was

taken into custody by the

DEA for being at the

wrong place at the wrong

time. He was at a 420

party with other college

students. He was told he

Summer is upon us! It is beautiful outside, time for summer fun, and work in the garden. Our garden needs to be tilled and fertilized and the seeds need to be sown. I am talking about the tilling of our fellow sisters. We need to dig them out of the dark places they are hiding and bring them to the light. We need to let them know they are not alone. We need to fertilize their ideals and plant the seeds of this movement in every woman we know. As we gather all our knowledge, as we watch this movement develop, and one day we will see what our hard work has grown.

~ SwiftShauna

was not charged with

anything and he was free

to go. Then the DEA

agents forgot about him

for five days.

He was locked in the

8x10 cell with no water, no

food, and no one who

knew he was there. Finally

someone heard him and

opened his cell. He was

very ill suffering from

kidney failure and rushed

to a local hospital where

he spent three days in the

intensive care unit.

This is enough! This

could have been my son,

my brother, my husband,

or my father. It is time for

all of this to end. Please

sisters I beg you call your

legislators and tell them

how you feel. If you need

help finding who your

legislators are federally or

locally, I am willing to help

you! If you want to write

them and need help

drafting a letter I am

willing to help you!

Page 2 of 11

“It takes women to reflect what

we see in society to the

world.”

I don’t know about you Ladies, but I have noticed in history it takes women to make any real changes in the world. The history of strong women goes all the way back to Egypt; Cleopatra (69–30 B.C.) Queen of Egypt and the last pharaoh. Cleopatra was a shrewd politician who spoke nine languages.

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) author who produced the first literature for the

mass market of juvenile girls in the 19th century. Her most popular book was Little Women.

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) the 19th century women’s movements’ most

powerful organizer. Together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s right to vote.

Esther Peterson (1906-1997). Peterson worked throughout her life for consumer

protection, improved labor conditions for American workers, and equal opportunity for American women. Because of her work, working women have a legal right to equal pay and food labels by law must now list exact amounts of ingredients and the nutritional content. She served four U.S. Presidents in various capacities, including Assistant Secretary of Labor, and Vice-Chair of the first Presidential Commission on the Status of Women.

Sandra Day O’Connor (born 1930) as the first woman appointed to the position

of U.S. Supreme Court justice, she carved a place for women at all levels of the legal profession.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an

African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement". On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Parks' action was not the first of its kind to impact the civil rights issue. Others had taken similar steps, including Lizzie Jennings in 1854, Homer Plessy in 1892, Irene Morgan in 1946, Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, and Claudette Colvin on the same bus system nine months before Parks, but Parks' civil disobedience had the effect of sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Maya Lin (born 1960) as the designer of two of America's most powerful

monuments; The Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, and The Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., Lin has distinguished herself as the most acclaimed site-specific architect of contemporary America.

It takes women to reflect what we see in society to the world. It is time once

again for us to heed the call for change. It is time again for us to be the factor that changes this world for the better!

Great Women of the past we salute you

The Mothers and sisters before us

Page 3 of 11

Good Girls by Tracie Jane

A good girl always does the right thing. She is kind. She helps others. She tells the truth. She does as she is told and she does not break the rules. Growing up, I was that good girl. I did the right thing. I was kind. I helped others. I told the truth. I did what I was told and I did not break the rules. Because I was a good girl, I most certainly did not try drugs. When I was 15, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). As the disease progressed, it slowly took my strength and mobility. By the time I was in college, I needed a cane most days. Often, a wheelchair was needed when I lacked the strength needed to stand up with the cane. Pain also increased as time went by. Sleep became a dream as spasms and stiffness kept me awake at night. I tried the drug therapies prescribed to me by my neurologist but they were painful injections from which I did not see results. But, good girls do as they are told and as one, I took my medicine because that is what my doctor told me to do. In early 2011, I began dating a man who made a career out of legalizing cannabis for medicinal purposes. He asked how I felt about it and I told him I was skeptical and gave my objections. You know what they are. They are the same ones you heard. You may have even had the same objections at one time. He knew that I had MS and asked if I would ever consider trying it to see if it would help me. Now, as a grown up, I work in Human Resources. That’s what good girls do. We help other people follow the rules because we are helping them. Part of my job involves running pre-employment background checks, including drug tests. I certainly was not going to risk my job because I tried drugs. Shortly after I met him, however, I was laid off and began working for him. When he saw me in pain one afternoon, he suggested I try his medicine because I was not going to have a drug test anytime soon. I thought about it and decided to try it. That was the first time in almost 17 years that I did not feel any pain! My muscles relaxed. I was even able to sleep a restful, pain free night! Today, over a year later, I no longer take pharmaceutical drugs. Rather, I treat myself naturally with cannabis and the results speak for themselves. I am stronger. I have not needed my cane to assist with my mobility and I no longer need my wheelchair. I weight train. I am even training to run my first 5K! The 17 year old high school junior who gave up playing field hockey because she could not walk down the halls of her high school without assistance ever thought that running would be an option in her adult life. I am now an activist advocating for the legalization of marijuana because good girls do the right thing. We are kind. We help others. We tell the truth. We question what we are told, and we break the rules.

“Today, over a year later, I no

longer take pharmaceutical

drugs”

Illness and Cannabis

Page 4 of 11

Am I my cannasisters keeper yes I am!! For we are money makers happy little rump shakers. Tantalizing so parental satisfying solo or with a hand rather it be another sister or a support of a man. We see it thru holding on to feelings making our life and our cannasisters lives have meanings. From breast feeders to man eaters bonafide board leaders battle ship heat seekers walking on the moon or running laps telling each other no worries my sister I have your back. Activist and novelist the one that keeps up with all the to do lists. Homemakers sometimes heartbreakers however the case may be I am still my cannasister keeper you see. For she is the one who has my back and we are the ones that do all the handle that last minute surprisers to early sun risers. With baggy eyes by day sleek and svelte by night ready by any means to put up a good fight. Just like the cannabis plant we stand tall to short some of us be dead poor. Some wealthy but we still are canna loving women hear us roar the one who stands up and says I need my meds I takes no more. We have anger and sadness yet soul searchers through political madness we don't ask for respect we demands it! By any means with a simple thank you or some of that stick green. We are deservers doing things you never heard of making history solving the mommy there's a monster under my bed mysteries. We do it all my cannasisters rise and if by chance we do fall we know it's another sister shoulder to help ease the pain with a spliff or a brownie look at all the sisterly love all around me I am blessed never stressed. Am I my sister keeper yes I am and I don't need to meet her she can be across the street or across the land we r connected with a link of unbreakable hands my sister my sisters keep marching strong our voices will be heard and a change will soon come. Free the cannabis plant to free my cannasisters with depression who needs a spliff from cancer aggression. Who needs a joint to walk with our heads high I will forever be my cannasister keeper and I stand by her side for dear life...

Am I my cannasisters keeper yes I am!! By Mika

“Who needs a joint to walk with our heads high I will

forever be my cannasister

keeper and I stand by her side for dear

life...”

Poem of the Month

Page 5 of 11

One need only look to the absolute failure of the Prohibition Era of the early 1900s to see that there is no reason to believe that simply by enacting laws against the use, manufacture, or distribution of a particular substance the public will cease to consume it. In fact, it seems by making something illegal it adds a certain kind of illicit charm. People often seek the thrill of living “on the edge.” Near the beginning of the 20th Century, The Volstead Act banned the sale and manufacture of distilled spirits or alcohol, but rather than have the desired effect of societal temperance, a sort of popular culture developed that enjoyed a certain criminal allure. Images of suave well-dressed gangsters; sipping from silver flasks at underground “speakeasies,” brought people from every walk of life into the clubs. Liquor flowed freely and top entertainers of the day played to the very politicians who decried the sins of gin during the day only to belly up to the bar at night. The unsuccessful social experiment ended after years of inefficacy and the government figured out how to create a vast taxable revenue source. It is apparently all right if society becomes derelict by the use of alcohol or a citizen’s health is imperiled if they can pay a higher price for their poison. Politically America has been fighting “The War on Drugs,” a term coined by President Richard Nixon in the 1970’s. Throughout this 40 year-long “war” there have been periodic revelations of political corruption at the highest levels of government that boggle the mind. Congress has spent billions of taxpayer dollars through the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for special enforcement actions supposedly to stop the steady flow of illegal drugs to America. What has been uncovered over the years has been one scandal after another that have uncovered deeply troubling connections of how sources of American power and money have been used in underhandedly providing weapons, military training, and in some of the most notorious cases safe transport of criminals and huge amounts of drugs into the country. Such was the case in the 1980’s when then President Ronald Reagan and people high up in his administration were investigated by a Congressional committee about what came to be known as the “Iran Contra Affair.” Evidence supported an incredible story of U.S. military corruption revealed by Marine officer Oliver North before a Senate investigation committee where America sold weapons to Iran and then used that money to support an illegal war in Nicaragua against Sandinista insurgents. The invasion of Panama by American troops later in the 1980’s, during the time that former head of the CIA President George H. Bush was in office, a similarly twisted tale involving at the time a former CIA operative and self-proclaimed Panamanian leader and friend to the Columbian drug cartels, Manuel Noriega. Noriega worked with the CIA for decades only to establish himself as one of the largest importers of drugs into the United States. Amongst mounting criminal charges, Noriega operated with apparent impunity until he declared war against the U.S. culminating in his ultimate downfall, capture, and prosecution both here and abroad. Noriega made news recently when the New York Times reported this past December that he was returned to Panama to face imprisonment after having completed prison terms in the U.S. and France for crimes committed during his reign. Most recently in this continued saga of American money being manipulated by special interests feeding the very beast that it swears it is trying to defeat comes news related to the ATF’s involvement in allowing shipments of guns to Mexico, the scene of an incredibly brutal battle currently being waged between drug cartels. A new Congressional committee investigation has opened regarding “Operation Fast and Furious,” unveiling a convoluted plot that included the sale of guns supplied by the Defense Department to known criminals related to the warring drug factions where ATF agents were directed to turn a blind eye. Only after the deaths of American agents as the result of injuries sustained by those same weapons did whistleblowers begin to unveil this gross misconduct. Those whistleblowers have been discharged of their duties as apparent cover-up maneuvers continue in this debacle during the recent investigation. Addiction is a huge revenue source for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Make no mistake about it the amount of money many law enforcement officers come across has a strong lure for even the staunchest of men and women who lay their lives on the line day in and day out for a puny salary to try and contain the flow of drugs in the city. They are resigned to the fact that the problem will never go away and many become victim to their own habits with drugs, sex, and money. There is also a lot of money made with the privatization of corrections facilities. Prisons usually fall under the purview of the states or federal governments responsible for building, staffing, and maintaining corrections facilities. Private owner operated correctional facilities have become hugely profitable enterprises. They operate as a special interest group in Washington to influence Congress to vote on laws that will ensure their success. Studies have shown that upwards of 80% of Americans in prison are there because of drug related offenses.

Prohobition By Rose History

Page 6 of 11

We Did It Connecticut!

After a raucous debate last night that lasted longer than anticipated, the Connecticut senate

passed a medical cannabis bill approved by the House earlier in the session that will now head

to Governor Dannel Malloy’s willing pen for signature.

By Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director May 5, 2012

Alabama

HB 25- Under existing law, the possession and use of marijuana is a criminal act. This bill

would authorize the medical use of marijuana only for certain qualifying patients who have

been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition.

HB 66- Under existing law, the possession and use of marijuana is a criminal act. This bill

would authorize the medical use of marijuana only for certain qualifying patients who have

been diagnosed by a physician as having a serious medical condition. For more information go

here.

Arkansas

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act- The initiative would allow patients with serious illnesses like

cancer, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and PTSD whose doctors recommend medical

marijuana to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. It would also allow patients to purchase

marijuana from one of up to about 30 dispensaries in the state, though patients who don’t live

near a dispensary would be able to grow their own or designate a caregiver to grow it for them.

For more information go here.

California

AB 2312 – The Sacramento proposal will create the Board of Medical Marijuana Enforcement

within the California Department of Consumer Affairs to oversee and enforce medical

marijuana in California. Federal government still continues their aggressive attacks on medical

marijuana dispensaries and families of California. For information go here.

San Diego Chapter, NORML Women's Alliance Meeting

When: Mon, June 4, 9:30pm – 10:30pm

Where: Caffe Italia - 1704 India Street, San Diego, CA (map)

Description: we want you at our next chapter meeting! We will be discussing the following: 1)

Our upcoming book donation drive for local high schools. 2) Our fall toy drive, for which we

Events & News

Page 7 of 11

may receive support from National. 3) Our upcoming summer event. Oh, and most importantly,

you’re ideas on how to make these projects a success, and your ideas for other projects.

Colorado

Colorado has worked so hard and succeeded in getting a legalization initiative on the 2012

ballot. GREAT WORK GUYS AND GALS! For more information here.

Delaware

Delaware has medical marijuana and is still working on regulations but, they are making

headway on those regulations. For more information go here.

District of Columbia

After thirteen years of issues it seems the devastation in D.C. maybe over soon for patients. For

information on D.C. go here.

Florida

Even though Florida failed to pass HJR 353/SJR 1028, they shamefully enacted a law called

“Suspicionless drug testing.” This will allow the state to test public aid recipients for illicit

drugs including marijuana and if they test positive they will be removed from public aid and

unable to receive assistance. I wonder if the continued wasted costs will settle well with the

legislators? For more information and news on Florida’s policies go here. For more on the

wasteful spending and violating people’s personal privacy done by states which have these laws

go here.

Georgia

Georgia has failed in passing any progressive policies for marijuana, but has shamefully passed

a law “The House Committee on State Institutions and Property offers the following substitute

to HB 816”. This will allow the state to test public aid recipients for illicit drugs including

marijuana and if they test positive they will be removed from public aid and unable to receive

assistance. I wonder if the continued wasted costs will settle well with the legislators or voters?

For more information and news on Georgia’s policies go here. For more on the wasteful

spending and violating people’s personal privacy done by states which have these laws go here.

Illinois

Wednesday May 23, 2012 Illinois NORML Lobby Day Capitol Building, Springfield 8AM-

4PM. To find out who your legislators are go here. Remember HB 30 is in the rules committee

this is where Illinois Legislators send bills to die. You can find out how to contact the rules

committee here.

Events & News

Page 8 of 11

Kansas

HB 2330 is the Medical Marijuana bill for Kansas died in 2011 and it doesn’t look like a new

bill has been introduced as of yet. For more information on HB 2330 go here.

Kentucky

SB 129 was the first hope of Kentucky to get a medical marijuana bill passed. It never went to

hearing but hopes are still high in Kentucky for policy change. For more information on

Kentucky please go here.

Louisiana

Unfortunately there are no current medical marijuana, decriminalization, or legalization bills in

Louisiana to date. Even more shameful, Louisiana is going the route of other states with a

random drug test bill for people who are in the greatest of all needs, the recipients of public

assistance. The Bill is called HB 380, please contact legislatures and tell them this is a shameful

way to attack the less fortunate and it is wasting our already tight tax dollars. For more

information on Louisiana go here.

Maine

Since medical marijuana legislation passed there have not been any new bills in legislature for

marijuana to move in a positive direction. For more information on Maine please go here.

Maryland

Maryland has medical marijuana and just passed two bills which will lower the punishment for possession of marijuana. Way to go Maryland! For more information about Maryland please go here.

For more information on NORML Women’s Alliance events go here.

Events & News

Page 9 of 11

In our lives we all have figured out there are pros and cons to many of our daily life

experiences. I would like to think of this newsletter as a way of expressing the more positive

insight to cannabis regarding not only my life, but other lives also. I believe that education is

vital in the legalization process, and that everyone can play a part in spreading the truth instead of

allowing the media to manipulate our minds with falsities. As a mother, student, and activist, I

take responsibility to make sure that all aspects are taken into consideration when writing this for

the public. I hope the topics that I chose are motivational for all of the readers.

The first thing I am going to discuss is cancer tumors. Many people have lost loved ones

to this disease, including myself. I read that the active ingredient in cannabis cuts tumor growth

in widely found lung cancer in half and drastically decreases the capability of the cancer to

increase. Researchers at Harvard university tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.

Adolescent cannabis usage is increasing, but adolescent cigarette smoking figures have decreased

19% from 2010-2011. This leads to my next myth, smoking marijuana does not cause lung

cancer. The latest exploration displays there appears to be something in cannabis that essentially

weakens cancer, instead of producing it. The media are doing their finest to disregard it. It

pointed out that amplified cannabis use did not bring consequences in advanced degrees of lung

and pharyngeal cancer. However, tobacco smokers have a grander risk the more they smoked.

Tobacco smokers who also smoked cannabis were to some extent reduced of receiving lung

cancer than strictly tobacco smokers. While we are on the topic of health, I am going to list the

positives of marijuana regarding health compared to the legal substance, alcohol. Many people

die from alcohol use compared to no one dying from cannabis use. People die from alcohol

overdoses. Alcohol can be fatal. There has never been a fatal marijuana overdose. The health-

related charges linked with alcohol use greatly surpass those for cannabis use. Alcohol use harms

the brain. Cannabis use does not. Alcohol use is associated to cancer. Marijuana use is not.

Alcohol is more addictive than marijuana. Alcohol use raises the hazard of damage to the

consumer. Cannabis use does not. Cannabis use is safer for the community. Alcohol use

contributes to aggressive and violent behavior. Cannabis use does not. Alcohol use is a major

part in violent crimes. Marijuana use is not. Alcohol use furthers the likelihood of domestic abuse

and sexual assault. In addition, once again, cannabis use does not.

In this age of change, we have a responsibility to take control over the decisions

made by our Congressional representatives. The President wants to hear from you, and this

culture is what he brings to Washington, D.C. On February 5, he responded to DEA raids in

California on collectives that were operating within California’s medical cannabis law. His

response was a direct result of our pressure on the White House. It was the most important

statement from the White House on this issue in 30 years, and we made it happen with our phone

calls. Here are the numbers that will assist you in being able to get your views and opinions to

our elected officials. President Obama (202) 456-1111, and then call Attorney General Eric

Holder at (202) 353-1555. Find your officials for your state and federal needs. Visit

www.yourelectedofficial.gov to find out which three federal lawmakers represent you (two

Senators, and one Representative).

Many things are progressing, and I would like to thank the people who donate their time

to such a groundbreaking cause. In the letter, there are websites and numbers for your elected

officials. Take advantage of the resources. If everyone get together, make phone calls, send e-

mails, etc. we will see change!

Cancer, Cannabis, and Legislation By Shannon

“In this age of change, we have

a responsibility to take control over

the decisions made by our

Congressional

representatives.”

Women’s Health and Cannabis

Page 10 of 11

Before you can get cooking with bud one of the most important things is learning how to make Tincture. Tincture is a way to withdraw the chemical compounds of the plant such as THC and CBD. Tincture can be used in everything from candy, baked goods, and all other recipes. It can also be taken by itself for fast relief of pain and other ailments. Tincture is great for arthritis and other diseases that cause inflammation.

Ingredients and supplies

1 oz of Cannabis (remember the stronger the cannabis the stronger the tincture)

1 5th of a gallon of 95% grain alcohol

32 oz. Rubber sealed Mason jar

½ oz. Fresh mint (optional)

Honey (optional)

Instructions- Preheat oven to 250 °F. Grind Cannabis plant, with all parts including stems and seed, to a medium fine texture. Place plant on a regular size cookie sheet. Spread Cannabis over cookie sheet in an even manner. Place Cannabis in oven for 10- 15 minutes. The smell will be strong, but will dissipate after the plant material is removed from the oven. Put the plant material (including optional; mint and should be finely chopped) in the Mason jar, add half of the alcohol, or until all the plant material is completely covered. Seal jar and shake for 2 minutes. Shake jar twice a day, once in the morning and before bed. Leave in the jar for at least two weeks but up to 6 months. To test potency of the tincture start out taking ½ teaspoon. After one hour increase the dosage by ½ teaspoon to check potency until you reach the desired effect. You can drink it straight, but I prefer it added to orange juice or any sweet liquid for potency testing.

To use tincture in cooking add two-three table spoons to your favorite dish. To use tincture in its raw form add honey to taste (to tame the pungent alcohol taste). Remember start at ½ teaspoon and increase as needed.

Recipe of the Month

“Tincture can be used in

everything from candy, baked goods, and all other recipes.”

Easy Tincture Recipe

Page 11 of 11

The NORML Women's Alliance is a nonpartisan coalition of

prominent, educated, successful, geographically diverse and

high-profile professional women who believe that marijuana

prohibition is a self-destructive and hypocritical policy that

undermines the American family, sends a mixed and false

message to our young people, and destroys the cherished

principles of personal liberty and local self-government.

Marijuana prohibition makes the difficult job of parenting even

more difficult by the state and federal governments not actually

controlling marijuana use, cultivation or distribution--notably

by American youth.

These diverse women 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.

The NORML Women present a core group of national

spokeswomen ready to interact with the public and the media

on the important issue of marijuana legalization.

NORML Women’s Alliance Mission Statement We’re on the

Web!

See us at:

Sister to Sister together

we can!

SwiftShauna Editor & Big sister for Illinois

“This is the first edition of the newsletter. I would like to invite everyone to contact me for input, ideas, and stories. We are also looking for more information about upcoming events! Thank you all that contributed Cheyanne- co-editor, Rose writer, Tracie writer, Shannon writer, and Mika writer! Please feel free to print this and pass it on ladies! Thank you to all that are reading it, together we can!”