Dear Mr. President

In the 2008 election I was so proud to be voting for a president that I actually believed in. Change Change Change Yes we can Yes we can Yes we can. I now here I sit four years later and wondering where my change exactly is? I feel even more lost than I did back then. Two things I am so passionate about, medical marijuana and equality for all, my beloved president can't seem to make up his mind on. When he was running his campaign he promised that marijuana patients would be protected and the medication would be easily available. He made me feel that all states would be able to receive this as a viable medication option. The opposite of that dream world is what we are living in now. Dispensaries which pay state and federal taxes are being raided on a daily basis. Peoples lively hoods are being destroyed by the government. Patients are unable to receive their medication. Lives are being ruined. All of this under President Obama's command. A man who has admitted that he has used marijuana. "As a kid I inhaled quite frequently. That was the point.""I think that we need to rethink and decriminalize our marijuana laws. But I’m not somebody who believes in legalization of marijuana. What I do believe is that we need to rethink how we are operating in the drug wars, and I think that currently we are not doing a good job.” This was his stance back in 2007 on how to treat marijuana. I couldn't agree with him more. Im not looking for full legalization (but I would vote that way if the option ever came up to vote) only for patient use. This is a drug that over and over has been proven to help with thousands of issues. Now in 2012 he is treating marijuana as a hard core drug that needs to be stopped, which is hurting more than helping. Do I think he used his stance on marijuana to gain votes back in 2008? Yes and now he's using his new stance to do the same as well. As a lesbian woman I hope you can see how this scares the shiz out of me. In 2010 when he repealed don't ask don't tell I cried. It was a movement that this country needed and now with that he is standing up for marriage equality it seems that we keep moving forward. Do I think he is using this to gain votes? YES. I just pray that he won't flip flop on this issue as well. Mr. President you do have my vote but how does that saying go? "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me"

Motherland of Marijuana

When you plan a vacation around the idea of marijuana where is the first place you think about? If Amsterdam didn't pop in your mind before my sentence was finished you might be too high to think. As a  22 year old pot loving girl with a chunk of change to plan a vacation where do you think I chose to go? Thats right the motherland of marijuana. The capitol of cannabis. The home of hash. You might ask me is it all its cracked up to be over there? I would simply put yes. There are coffee shops on every corner. Quality weed to chose from in everyone. I walked into our hostel and was greeted by our house owner and then showed a variety of pipes, papers, bongs, and vaporizers to use at our disposal. I was in heaven. Amsterdam was the friendliest, most clean, beautiful place I have ever been to. Do you know why that is? Because of marijuana. Sure there are so many other great things the city has to offer, such as the Anne Frank house, Van Gogh museum, and the ever famous red light district, but marijuana truly fuels this city. What amazed me was that the use of marijuana had really made a positive impact on the people's lives who lived there. Their crime rate is almost undetectable, their streets are kept cleaner than many American cities Ive been too, and people are more than willing to help you with almost anything. I felt more comfortable walking down any street alone then I do in Milwaukee. This city sets an example of what every city should strive to be like and with the reform of marijuana laws I think many could achieve such a goal.

Weed is so gay

Weed is so gay. It makes you giggle, tickle, have warm happy thoughts, want to hug and eat everything in sight. So by all means weed is so gay. Now when I said gay Im going to go out on a limb and say that you thought I meant bad. Tisk Tisk fellow readers. So who am I you might ask? Im NORMLKim the lesbian medical marijuana activist. Wow what a mouth full. In a nut shell I'm pretty much every Republican's nightmare. An openly gay mother of one who in her free time likes to collect signatures, donations, and blogs about marijuana. The part of marijuana I like to focus on is the medical use. Now sure the day full legalization occurs I will be dancing and singing in the streets but first my goal is to get it to the people who need it most. Cancer patients, chronic pain sufferers, bi-polar and severe depressed patients, autistic children, my list could go on and on. To live in a country where our nations capitol approves of using this drug but certain states don't boggles my mind. This drug needs to be accessed nation wide and its users need to be protected. Not having to leave their medicine behind because they are visiting a family member in a non using state. Not to worry about crossing borders state to state. Not to worry that they might not get a certain job because of drug testing even though they are fully prescribed this as medication. Or even worse the fear of losing their current job because someone finds out they are a user. This needs to stop people. Do you ever question someone when they say they use vicodin for their back injury? Do you ever question the severely depressed person when they say they take welbutrin? What about the mother of an autistic child for feeding them a special diet, do you question her? Im going to say no you don't and medical marijuana users shouldn't have to answer any questions either. To obtain and medicate as doctor prescribes should be allowed anywhere in this country. Thats what I'm going to try and make happen. Want to help me out?