Month: November 2019

I receive Google alerts every day for “women and marijuana” as part of my ongoing research for Freedom is Green. It’s usually a strange compendium of criminal reports (including two women who were found pantless in their car after St. Patrick’s day. Ladies, reign it in!), political and legal issues, and scientific reports.

One thing for sure: the alerts have been increasing in size and strangeness. Today, I read about the trial of one of the biggest marijuana crop busts in Australia’s history, spearheaded by a man who planned on using the funds for a massive anti-abortion campaign (to the tune of $69 million.)

Michael Bennet Gardner Sr. argued in his defense because, apparently, he possessed certain memories that would aid his cause:

Mr Gardner told the court he was in a unique position to argue against abortion as he could remember his time in the womb.

He said women who had abortions carried demons with them for the rest of their lives and argued society was doomed for allowing them to take place.

“Abortions are an act of treason against the reasons our men fought and died on the cliffs of Gallipoli,” Mr Gardner said.

He made his submissions wearing a ragged shirt that was missing the back panel, saying it was an ancient Jewish custom for grieving people to tear their clothes.

He apparently believes in shackling his children and forcing them into hard labor as well as torturing animals. So there you go. Radical conservatism and flagrant nutjobs aren’t beyond the use of marijuana to further their cause.

The right and the left continue to collide and intermingle in Connecticut, where Connecticut voters overwhelmingly support the use of medicinal marijuana with a doctor’s prescription, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Great news, right?

Well, this same group also strongly supports the death penalty, calling a legislative proposal to abolish it a “bad idea” by a margin of 62-31 percent.

We seem like a nation (or a world) of a fractured and mercurial belief systems that changes from day to day. No surprise.

I’ll continue to monitor and relay the varied stories…though the pantsless women types always have a special place in my heart.

Here’s a little excerpt. (Note their refusal to don pants even after instructed by the cops. Rebel.):

Two women wearing nothing but shirts were found by a Baldwin Borough police officer inside of a gray Ford Focus stuck on the railroad tracks along Streets Run Road near Route 51 at around 2:59 a.m. on Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day.

When the officer approached the Focus, he smelled the strong odor of alcohol, according to his report.

The officer requested numerous times that the driver—Andrea M. Vennare, 23, of 233 Albany St. in Pittsburgh’s Ridgemont neighborhood—get dressed so that he could put her through field-sobriety tests, but Vennare refused. Eventually, Vennare failed all field-sobriety tests and a breath-analyzer test before being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Vennare said that she accidentally drove onto the railroad tracks.

Before being taken to the Baldwin police station, Vennare and the other woman in the Focus—a 22 year old who has not been charged with any offenses—both finally put on their pants.

See? Happy ending.

Square Grouper – IMDB

Robert Platshorn served the longest sentence for any non-violent marijuana offense in US history: Thirty years in federal prison with no parole. It was all for smuggling tons of pot back in the 1970’s when he went by the name Bobby Tuna. On April 9th Magnolia Pictures will bring Bobby to the Philadelphia Cine Fest for a screening of a new documentary called Square Grouper that tells his story. Platshorn grew up right on South St. and this will mark his first trip back to the area since being released from prison.

PhillyNORML is planning a homecoming for Bob and his family. Details to follow next week.

He sat down with me for a 2009 interview about his autobiography Black Tuna Diaries: The Story of America’s Most Notorious Marijuana Smuggler LISTEN HERE MP3

Bobby’s real skill was as a salesman and a dealmaker. He cut his teeth as a pitchman on the boardwalk in Atlantic City selling all kinds of wares. When he got into moving huge bails of marijuana he used boats and airplanes, but never any violence. The equally amazing story is a whole new chapter of Bobby today. He reconnected with his wife and son on a slow but steady path to re-build his life. Platshorn has also invested himself as an advocate for marijuana law reform. He has a regular column in High Times Magazine and currently works with local NORML chapters.

The next step for Bob is starting a Silver Tour to educate seniors about the benefits of cannabis. His approach has already seen some positive impact. After speaking in Florida, state Rep. Jeff Clemens recently introduced a resolution to legalize medical marijuana. Many are moved by Bob’s perspective and story along with his enduring sense of humor that is an inspiration after he served so many years in a cell for pot.

Square Grouper from Rakontur Films and directed by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys) is scheduled for a 4:20PM screening at the Ritz Theater in Philadelphia on Saturday April 9, 2011.

Check out more screenings on the East Coast –  http://www.squaregroupermovie.com/events/

Image from PhillyNORML

Freedomisgreen.com will be helping with a letter writing effort for marijuana prisoners.

Several studies suggest a prisoner’s mental health is dependent on contact
with the outside world. Many prisoners consider mail as one of their only
highlights:

“One cannot fully understand the therapeutic effects one receives from
correspondence with his or her peers on the outside.” (M.J., Hagerstown, MD)

“Mail is the only thing to look forward to in here.” (J.S., Camp Lejeune,
NC)

Read more about the therapeutic benefits of receiving mail while in prison:

http://www.writeaprisoner.com/why-write-a-prisoner/default.aspx

Editor Beth Mann has some tips:

What should you write? Anything. Prisoners benefit from seemingly mundane
letters about your daily life to words of inspiration to pieces of creative
writing to news or current events. The important part is simply reaching
out.

We will post the letters though support pages or print and send via regular mail with the NORML Women’s Alliance.

Please keep in mind that all of the prisoner’s mail is read by authorities.

– Please send text only, no images or attachments
– Put the prisoner’s name in subject line of email
– Send separate emails for each prisoner
– Up to 1,000 words per letter
– By sending a letter through freedomisgreen.com we may contact you and ask that your letter be posted on the site to bring awareness to victims of prohibition. You may decline and we will still forward your letter directly to the prisoner.

– Send your emails to [email protected]

Questions? [email protected]

Thank you for participating!

Joe is a 20-year-old straight-A college student from Lebanon County who was never in trouble with the law until October.Now he worries about a prospective employer going online and finding that Joe pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a charge that makes it sound like he is prone to fighting.

Photo: The Associated Press

Joe wasn’t busted for fighting. He was arrested for being in the same car as someone who police caught with a small amount of marijuana.Officials in Lackawanna County, where Joe was arrested, said he could avoid a license suspension and drug conviction by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct. They also said Joe could keep his record clean by completing substance abuse classes and counseling, a process known as Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition or ARD.Joe said he didn’t have $1,500 the courts wanted for ARD, so he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.“What they didn’t tell me and what I didn’t learn is that engaging in fighting is the tag that goes with every disorderly conduct charge. That’s the opposite of me. I’ve never fought. It is just an incredibly inaccurate depiction of who I am,” Joe said.Joe asked that his real name not be used. He worries knowledge of his pot bust could hurt his chances to get a job.People shouldn’t have to choose between the lesser of two evils for getting arrested for a small amount of marijuana, said Cumberland County Public Defender Taylor Andrews, who retired recently after 34 years.Andrews said Pennsylvania should follow states like California, Massachusetts and New York that have decriminalized possession of a small amount of pot — about an ounce or less — to the equivalent of a traffic ticket.“That strikes me as a sane response,” said Andrews. “There are people who have used marijuana and it has not affected their careers and their lives. It becomes almost a random thing, if they are caught and prosecuted, then their lives are significantly affected, where the prosecution has a greater affect than the actual drug.”But don’t look for any easing of Pennsylvania’s pot laws, despite others states’ steps toward making it legal to smoke and grow marijuana.Andrews emphasized he favors relaxing the law only for adults.In November, California voters rejected Proposition 19, which would have allowed people over 21 to grow and possess marijuana and for municipalities to collect taxes on retail sales of pot. Proposition 19 lost by only 53 percent to 46 percent and supporters vow to try again.That Proposition 19 got as far as it did is a game-changer, said Harry Levine, who has studied marijuana arrests as a sociology professor at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.“California is the largest state in the U.S., with 40 million people and the eighth largest economy in the world. By itself that had an enormous effect on the national conversation. It allowed for a more elevated conversation” in the country about decriminalizing marijuana, Levine said.State and local government budget woes could favor relaxing pot laws. Former-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t support Proposition 19, but signed legislation to decriminalize possession of a small amount of marijuana because he agreed with those who said California couldn’t afford devoting court resources to such cases.Andrews said, “It’s a misuse of police time and resources to be focusing a lot on just marijuana possession” when alcohol abuse is the far greater evil.“The biggest slice of the (court) docket are DUI (driving under the influence) cases and most DUI cases are alcohol,” Andrews said. “If you look at your domestic violence cases in virtually 80 percent of them somebody is liquored up. You look in your bad checks, forgery, embezzlement cases, invariably somebody’s life is out of control and often that is correlated with alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is the biggest common denominator. It was when I started in the 1970s and it still is.”Public supportPublic support for legalizing pot in Pennsylvania is only 33 percent, but that’s up from 22 percent two years ago, according to a 2010 survey by Franklin & Marshall College.G. Terry Madonna, a political analyst at Franklin & Marshall who co-authored the survey, said he thinks public support would be even higher for reducing the penalty for possession of a small amount of pot, perhaps even to a traffic ticket as in the other states. He said that’s a question the survey hasn’t asked yet but might in light of California’s decision.Madonna said public support was highest — 80 percent — for legislation that would allow marijuana for medicinal use. State lawmakers considered such legislation during the 2009-10 session and Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, plans to re-introduce a medical marijuana bill this year.But medical marijuana and even decriminalizing is a far cry from outright legalization.“We are in a very conservative state culturally,” Madonna said. “We do have a gaming culture. We are far more accepting of the lottery, horse racing and casinos. But we don’t have a drug culture. You are always going to find a segment of the population that will have moral objections” to relaxing pot laws, regardless of any perceived monetary benefit.He said the state budget crunch is forcing the re-evaluation of the cost benefit of strong-on-crime policies popular in the 1990s, such as sentencing guidelines that can lead to prison for people arrested multiple times for having a little pot.But Madonna sees as slim prospects for relaxing pot laws in this state soon, especially since voters just elected a more conservative legislature and governor.Jack Carroll, executive director of Cumberland County Drug and Alcohol Commission, sees no sentiment for legalized marijuana in Pennsylvania, given the state House 198-1 vote this year to ban synthetic marijuana. The ban awaited Senate action.Pot casesMidstate district attorneys don’t see pot cases as an undue burden on courts. They say a first-time offender busted for a small amount of pot usually gets ARD.“We’ve made it as non-criminal as you can possibly make it,” said Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed.The district attorneys don’t support decriminalizing pot. They see marijuana as leading to abuse of more serious drugs like heroin and cocaine. The prosecutors also worry relaxing pot laws will cause more people to use it.Perry County District Attorney Charles Chenot said “I’ve seen what smoking pot can do to a person. It really truly is a mind-altering substance. It influences your ability to drive, walk and reason. It is a substance that leads to other drugs. By decriminalizing we are kind of giving up on our war on drugs.”PossessionDauphin is the only midstate county where the number of cases filed in court for people arrested for having a small amount of marijuana exceedsed the number of DUI cases from 2005 to 2009, according to data provided by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Dauphin’s pot cases in recent years even exceed those of York County, which has larger population than Dauphin.Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. said a lot of the small pot possession cases come from people who are arrested at concerts in Hersheypark.Otherwise, Marsico said many of the small pot arrests are accompanied by other charges. Often, people who are already on supervised probation for other offenses get caught with marijuana, as do individuals police stop on the street for suspicious behavior, Marsico said.In June, Philadelphia created a diversion court where anyone arrested with up to 30 grams of pot would pay a fine. The city said the program would divert more than 4,700 possession cases from its criminal courts.Marsico said he is watching Philadelphia to see how its diversion court goes. “The small amount of marijuana alone is not bogging down our court system but it is certainly something we should take a look at going further.”Gov. Tom Corbett while running for governor said he opposed expanding Philadelphia’s pot decriminalization court outside the city. Marsico said he does not believe Dauphin would need state approval to set up a pot diversion court similar to Philadelphia’s.Joe still smokes pot about four times a year.“I do more harm to myself eating bowls of ice cream,” he said. “We all know marijuana is not a healthy thing to do, the same as with cigarettes, fatty foods and alcohol.“In excess all these things are bad for you. But what it comes down to is these are decisions of individuals. As Americans we are allowed to do unhealthy things,” he said.

4/1/2013 by Chris Goldstein – The April showers are just arriving but some May flowers have already bloomed. Tourists discovered six marijuana plants in the Rose Garden just as President Obama announced a major victory in the so-called War on Drugs.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) marijuana experts rushed to the scene this morning and estimated that each four-foot tall cannabis plant was getting ready to yield  500 pounds of pot.

“We think it’s Sour Diesel,” said one expert who declined to be named citing the ongoing investigation.

ONDCP Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowse arrived and personally eradicated the crop with a gold-plated weedwacker that he keeps in a glass case behind his desk.

“Think of the children,” said Kelikowse, “imagine what would happen to the ice cream reserves if three thousand pounds of Sour D hit Capitol Hill.”

The Czar was pulled away from a high profile “Victory on Drugs” press conference with President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.

They announced that Drugs (including crack, heroine, meth, bath salts, Krispy Kreme donuts and others) were tracked to their secret hideout in Afghanistan and eliminated in a joint special operation last night.

Still images taken from combat video cameras and drones showed Drugs being shot numerous times.

Drugs were then put into a rocket and fired directly into the Sun.

Reporters immediately pointed out the distinctive sound of the Drug Czar’s 24kt cannabis eradicator just outside.

President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry seemed unsurprised, saying that the timing of the raid (4:20AM) allowed Marijuana to remain at large.

Kerry pointed out that official government scientists at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) are not sure if marijuana is a Drug.

“Right now we encourage American citizens and the citizens of every country in the world to get quality health insurance,” said Kerry, “everyone needs to start taking wholesome, nutritious, US FDA approved prescription pharmaceuticals.”

The DEA said that Mexican or South American cartels were the primary suspects in the White House farming operation.

But one observer noted that staffers from Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jared Polis (D-CO) were milling around the Rose Garden with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) looking “really bummed out.”

Filed under “Satire” updated 4:20PM April 1, 2013

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  chris(at)freedomisgreen.com

State House in Hartford, CT

Legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults is moving forward in Hartford. The Joint Judiciary Committee approved the bill on Tuesday April 12th. The proposed change in state law would allow for a $100 fine and a non-criminal citation for those caught with up to a half-ounce of cannabis. The original language called for possession of up to one ounce.

The CT Mirror reports:

“This proposal is just saying, let’s save all that hassle. These offenses do take up a lot of time and effort in the court system,” said Michael Lawlor, a senior adviser to Malloy and former chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Lawlor said the proposal will save the state “multi-millions” by not having an estimated 2,000 offenders who are caught each year with small amounts of marijuana brought into the justice system. The legislature’s non-partisan research office reported that states that have reduced penalties for possession have “significantly reduced expenses” for arrests and prosecution. read full

Former Governor Jodi Rell, a Republican, fought a similar piece of legislation in 2009. Because she loudly threatened a veto the bill never got a floor vote.

But this year the measure has seen steady progress as a leading agenda item for the newly elected Governor Daniel Malloy, a Democrat.

A Quinnipiac poll found that 65% of Connecticut residents support decriminalized marijuana possession.

Visit NORML’s Take Action Center for more information

7/14/2011- Tubbs and Crockett could be issuing tickets for pot possession and saving their city’s tax dollars. Popular tourist destination Miami Beach is cranking up the heat for cannabis reform. Some dedicated advocates have spent the last year gathering 9,000 signatures for a decriminalization measure. This week the petition was submitted to the Miami Beach City Commissioners.

The reduction in penalties would mean that adults caught with less than 1 ounce of cannabis would face a $100 fine and no criminal record. That would be a big change from the possible year in jail and $1000 fine currently for up to 20 grams of pot.

Some nationally prominent marijuana activists are residents of the Miami area and have given significant momentum to the cause.

Robert Platshorn served the longest sentence in history for a non-violent marijuana offense: 28 years. He is involved with the campaign and was on the scene this week: “We went in to present the 9,000 signatures and ten of us also testified. Now we’ve verified most of them [signatures]. If 6,400 are verified they have to put it on the ballot or call a special election. The only concern by Commissioners was triggering a special election in these tough economic times. That would cost the city about 250,000 dollars.”

Although concerned about the technical details the Miami Beach Commissioners, including Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, did take the issue seriously. “They were really very receptive to the petition,” Platshorn said, “where we didn’t have a sponsor on the commission; we do now. They all made statements that they were not against it. Again, we were very well received….many of the speeches got applause from the Commissioners.”

Irvin Rosenfeld is one of the few federal medical marijuana patients and garnered some of those applause. Rosenfeld’s tins of 300 cannabis cigarettes are manufactured by federal authorities under a program created in the late 1980’s.Florida saw a state medical marijuana resolution introduced earlier this year but there was no legislative action.

“I care about medicine getting to patients,” said Rosenfeld,”decriminalization helps patients because now they don’t have to worry about being arrested.”

He brought his tin of cannabis to show the Commissioners, “I asked them to hold up their hands and asked if they paid federal taxes. And they all raise their hands and then I took out my tin – I said ‘Isn’t it silly that city police would be spending time and money chasing people down for the same thing you paid for that helps me!’”

Platshorn said that he was optimistic after the meeting, “The actual outcome was as good as we could hope for. We got a realistic appraisal.”

Basically the Commissioners would rather place the ballot on the election in 2012 rather than endure the cost of a separate election just for the decrim measure. This was not lost on activists. “The whole point here is to save the city money,” said Irvin Rosenfeld.

But there is another option where the penalty reductions could simply be adopted without an election. “The City Charter says that if we get 6,400 verified signatures that they may be obliged to call a special election, “ said Platshorn, “So they were willing to consider the possibility of a resolution just to pass the change in penalties on their own.”

The massive amount of tourists in Miami Beach was part of the challenge for the petition. Signature gatherers would be mobbed at popular locations but only a few in the interested crowd would be local voters. They had to shift strategies netting a few signatures at a time with more frequent outings to places like supermarkets.

A strong base of student activism was key to the petition drive, “Miami University, FAU, Florida Central NORML chapters…it really has been terrific down here. Eric Stevens did an amazing job,” said Platshorn, adding, “Then Rakontur Films really did a wonderful thing by supporting this too.”

Platshorn’s story was told in the documentary Square Grouper from Rakontur that showcased the common trade of South Florida marijuana smuggling in the 1970s. The film company gave much needed funding to the effort.

But the same tourism that made voters hard to sift out was another reason for decriminalizing in Miami Beach. There are now sixteen states with legal medical marijuana. Irvin Rosenfeld points out that medical cannabis patients may have been avoiding the area because of the harsh prohibition laws.

“Say I’m a patient in Maine and have to go to a wedding to go to in Miami? Now it would also be safer for patients who are also tourists or here visiting family,” said Rosenfeld, ”there would at least be that security.”

It will take some time for Miami Beach to officially verify the petition signatures but the organizers are confident. Bob Platshorn was inside federal prison for three decades over marijuana, emerging with his head up to re-build his life and family. He also resolved to change the law.

“I honestly believe that Miami Beach will be the first city in Florida to decriminalize.”

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (if so, congratulations. It’s just safer there, isn’t it?), you know about this story. Rudy Eugene (left) committed a gruesome and heinous act in which he ate the face of Ronald Poppo in Miami over Memorial Day weekend.

What you may not know is this: the toxicology report showed no use of “bath salts” or any other psychosis-inducing drug. The only drug he tested positive for? Marijuana. Very unfortunate. Obviously, marijuana did not cause this man to go ballistic, but inherently psychological instability. Or a drug combination he was never tested for, since not all drug testing is available at every lab.

Medical examiner Dr. Bruce Hyma said in his statement, “The laboratory has tested for but not detected any other street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs…This includes cocaine, LSD, amphetamines (Ecstasy, Meth and others), phencyclidine (PCP or Angel Dust), heroin, oxycodone, Xanax, synthetic marijuana (Spice), and many other similar compounds.

A second forensic toxicology test conducted by a separate lab also confirmed the absence of the most comment ingredients found in bath salts, which mimic the effects of cocaine or methamphetamine and have been associated with various bizarre “zombie attack”-like crimes in recent months, and many — including Miami police officials — believed they were what caused Rudy Eugene to attack Ronald Poppo, and chew off at least 70% of his face.

“Within the limits of current technology by both laboratories,” the statement continued, “marijuana is the only drug identified in the body of Mr. Rudy Eugene.”

And this is when marijuana becomes the convenient “fall guy yet again.”

Dr. Patricia Junquera, who is an assistant professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and is considered an expert on addictions, said she wouldn’t rule out the fact that a different “strain” of marijuana could have caused the attack.

“It could have been the strain of marijuana that increases the dopamine in the brain,” she said, adding that there are two strains of marijuana called sativa, which increases dopamine and gives you energy, and indica, which is a “sleepy high.”

“People don’t really know what the amount of either is in each little packet of marijuana,” Dr. Junquera explained. “And we can’t differentiate between the two in the blood, much less in a dead person.”

Read more: http://gossiponthis.com/2012/06/29/no-bath-salts-just-marijuana-found-miami-zombie-cannibal-face-eater-guy-after-toxicology-tests/#ixzz20oUEQ4Js

National Park Service Police move in on the marijuana legalization protest "Smoke Down Prohibition" May 18, 2013

5/19/13 – Federal Park Rangers and Philadelphia City Police disrupted the monthly “Smoke Down Prohibition” protest at the Liberty Bell calling for marijuana legalization and made several dramatic arrests.

On Saturday May 18, 2013 a crowd about 150 gathered in front of Independence Hall.

At 4:20PM, the moment when much of the crowd participates in civil disobedience by openly smoking cannabis, dozens of law enforcement moved into the crowd.

Those on stage speaking to the crowd were targeted for detainment, including one of the organizers.

Video: http://youtu.be/NTHBC6JOc4M

There were at least five arrests, including NA Poe of the comedy crew The Panic Hour.

Also arrested were Adam Kokesh host of AdamVsTheMan and Don DeZarn a New Jersey Libertarian candidate for US Senate.

Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion was briefly detained but released. One unidentified woman was roughly carried away but also quickly released.

The protests take place in front of Independence Hall permanently reserved by the National Park Service for First Amendment activity. Despite the targeted arrests and a heavy police presence, dozens in the crowd continued the action by openly smoking marijuana from 4:20PM-4:45PM.

At four previous “Smoke Down Prohibition” events there were no arrests or citations.

NA Poe and Adam Kokesh are still being held in the Federal Detention Facility at 7th and Arch Streets. A solidarity demonstration will take place in front of the jail today starting at 2:00PM.

“What was originally a rally to highlight issues regarding cannabis prohibition has shown that our First Amendment rights are not protected by the park rangers and police,” said PhillyNORML Executive Director Kevin Clough.

The Panic Hour issued this statement: “These arrests are the beginning of a long fight we have ahead of us to end cannabis prohibition and maintain our right to free speech.”

FB Solidarity Event – https://www.facebook.com/events/194482224036867/

The N.A. Poe Defense Fund – http://fundly.com/the-n-a-poe-defense-fund

Margaret Trudeau, former wife of late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and author of the 2010 biography Changing My Mind, which chronicles her life dominated by bipolar disorder, has been making the lecture rounds recently, talking about a topic near and dear to her: mental health (or what she likes to refer to as “brain health).

Here is an excerpt of an interview with her, regarding her past use of marijuana:

MBF [Marian Botsford Fraser]: You talk about how marijuana started out as ballast, when you were traveling in Morocco, and later, you thought it was good for you, but it became something else.

MT: It gave me focus, brought me out of my depression [and] gave me energy to get through the day. When people try to self-heal, the first thing you want to do is escape – [use] alcohol, street drugs, gambling, anything to comfort yourself, [to] get away.

To tell you the truth I’d still choose being a pothead any day over being an alcoholic. It’s natural…it seemed to be the thing. I needed it and it was part of the culture. But the truth is studies have shown recently that the PHC in marijuana can trigger you into mania, or has a propensity to do so. The jury is still out on it, and of course bipolar condition is one of the conditions that medical marijuana is prescribed for. But the marijuana that’s being smoked today is not our father’s Oldsmobile!

It’s very, very different now, and it can greatly affect your health if abused. There were times when I abused marijuana and I regret it. But it also may have saved my life.

MBF: Do you still smoke marijuana?

MT: I don’t want to now. Don’t get me wrong, I love marijuana: I’d rather have a toke than a martini any day. But why do I have to have either? It’s not part of my day-to-day life, as it was before when I was really ill and trying to escape all my pain, especially the death of my son.

I finally realized that the amount of marijuana I started using after the death of Michel [in 1998], trying to get away from my grief, in fact delayed my mourning. It kept me from facing it, dealing with it, allowing myself to be a wholly grieving person instead of desperately sad, wallowing in self-pity, with no hope left, and feeling such disappointment that life could throw such a mean, cruel blow to our family. It just rocked me, losing my little Michel.

Read more.