Do Your Part To Promote Marijuana Legalization
If you love cannabis and want to help other people experience the myriad of healing benefits that it has to offer, you may want to consider joining the battle for marijuana legalization.
Lobbyists, activists, and advocates alike are the reasons why you have access to marijuana right now. These are individuals who no longer want to passively act on reform – these are people who spread information through the internet, participate in reform groups, and are the very heartbeat of legalization in the United States today.
But that’s not enough; with the upcoming elections less than 2 months away, it’s high time that more people get involved to contribute what they can to spread the word about marijuana’s medicinal benefits and get it legalized. Your own participation as a consumer is critical too – demand increases supply while enabling more growers to enter the market.
Thankfully, as more states are legalizing cannabis, there is more room for marijuana lobbyists to make a difference. Opportunities to support the cause are increasing, and if you want to help don’t know where to start, read up on our guide. Even if you don’t want to commit to the becoming a lobbyist or an activist, you can still become a cannabis advocate and support the cause in your own way.
Get Informed
Before you can help with the cause, the most important step to take is to get informed. The facts mean nothing if we aren’t capable of communicating it properly because we don’t understand it. Once you fully comprehend why marijuana is medicine, how it can help you, how prohibition is killing people, and the benefits of legalization, only then can knowledge and logic really take your side.
Once you are equipped with knowledge, you can simply start by talking about the issue in your own circles. Discuss the issue of prohibition even with strangers; educate your family, friends, and relatives even if they are already getting annoyed. More discussions about the personal and political effects of cannabis will help people to realize how serious the negative impact that the war on drugs has on society and people’s lives. You might be surprised how persistence with discussion can actually have a positive impact on others, and how successful you can be at helping change perceptions especially when people are presented with facts.
Aside from educating yourself about the plant, you should also find out what your local community is doing about marijuana reform. Volunteer with a group or community that is doing something that resonates with you, whether it’s helping parents or children get more access to medicinal marijuana, working in women-specific groups, or joining the ranks of those in marijuana business, there are SO many causes that you can get involved in that are fighting for legalization in their own ways.
However if you live in a state where marijuana isn’t legalized yet, the best way for you to get started is to go online where no geographical boundaries exist. There are thousands of informative resources, websites, and forums online that will also help you stay updated with the changes in cannabis politics.
Social Media
Mass communication through the primary social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, allows information to be shared with people from all walks of life in just a few seconds. News, events, protests, and stories can be shared with millions of people through these channels even before it hits mainstream media.
Sharing information online is an effective way of getting the word out. Activists flock to the internet because they know how effective the internet is with starting and contributing to discussions. Not only is the internet useful in sharing information, but the media uses opinions online to gauge the pulse of the people on certain issues.
YouTube and Instagram are likewise still important because as humans, we are visual by nature. These mediums are a great way to share information through video and photographs. Activism has never been easier thanks to all of these channels.
Get In Touch With Your Local Reps
If you’re ready to get serious with your efforts towards marijuana legalization, it’s time for you to get in touch with your local representatives. You can start by entering your zip code on this search engine and in a few seconds you’ll find out the names of your local reps. To gain traction on the issue, we need to work hard to educate politicians on all levels as well as the public, about the benefits of cannabis.
However, keep in mind that doing so can bring you disappointment at first. Many politicians still feel uncomfortable when discussing marijuana. It also helps to attend hearings conducted by your local government because it will be the perfect opportunity for concerned citizens to voice their arguments for legalization of cannabis. When the final bill has been developed, citizen statements are put on public record and will even be referenced later on.
V O T E
The most important step of all is to actually register and vote. Participate in the democratic process and do your part in making your voice heard. Educate yourself on the opinions of various presidential candidates when it comes to marijuana reform and go from there.
You can also do your part in the local level by researching on city and state politicians to find out their opinions on cannabis. There are numerous online resources that can provide you with the information that you need, which include politicians’ opinions, Congressional records, and campaign contributions among others. You can get started with publicagenda.org and vote-smart.org.
If you can't do any of the above, start at a human level and stop using the word marijuana, and use cannabis instead. Marijuana is a Mexcian term the US government demonized in the 1930s in order to get prohibition passed. Correct yourself when you slip and ask others to use the plant's correct name, cannabis, and not the work marijuana.
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