Woe is Roe:
Cannabis &
Abortion Rights Activism
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” - Winston Churchill
TEACHABLE MOMENT #1: BACKGROUND – How we got here. A window into the dystopian post Roe v. Wade future can be viewed through the lens of the War on Drugs that has been in effect for 50 years. Because some drugs like cannabis are federally illegal, the war has been delegated to the 50 states, but to a far different end than total bans as originally envisioned. Over time, luster waned, replaced with perceptions of futility and calls for change. This what war on abortion learn from war on cannabis.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #2: PREVALENCE – millions affected. Millions of Americans break the law each year when they consume cannabis. Federal law even considers medical marijuana patients law breakers. Abortion laws affect millions of women in the United States, with several hundred thousand having the procedure last year. Even so, the effects of constrictive legislation are beginning to be felt; the number abortion providers has dropped by half.
FACT: The overturing of Roe may mean that 36 million women will find themselves without safe access to abortion, an important aspect of feminine healthcare.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
FACT: A recent Gallup poll found that only 38 percent of respondents say they are "extremely proud" to be an American, down from the 55%.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #3: HISTORY – extensive. Both cannabis and abortion have extensive histories in the United States and globally. Both were common and foundational in ancient times. Both rode a legal roller coaster of acceptance during the early days of the nation followed by periods of strict prohibition.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #4: POPULAR SUPPORT – majority. Various public opinion polls find overwhelming support for both legal cannabis and legal abortion. In both cases, the Republican Party holds the decidedly minority opinion.
FACT: In the Jewish faith, the soul is said to arrive upon the baby’s first breath.
FACT: Benjamin Franklin wrote the standard abortifacient recipe (drugs or herbs used to induce miscarriage) employed during Colonial times.
FACT: 90% of Democratic voters call themselves pro-choice; conversely, 70% of Republican voters identify as pro-life (anti-abortion).
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #5: ZEALOTRY – opposition extremists. Antidrug zealots, pushing for a so-called “drug free world,” piled draconian restrictions on top of one another. An initial soft touch toward policy inevitably resulted in a “whack a mole” prohibitionist approach that is being repeated by anti-abortion extremists who have at times resorted to violence.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #6: RACISM – least among us. Minorities and the poor bear the unequal burden of being victims of over zealous social policies. The so called “good intentions” that beget these constructs in reality create unforeseen consequences, many of which fall on the society’s least powerful. Despite increasingly draconian restrictions, these practices continue.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
FACT: Antiabortion zealots have introduced 541 new abortion restrictions just this year.
FACT: Despite lower usage rates than Whites, Blacks are four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana and six times more likely to be incarcerated for drug offenses than their white counterparts.
FACT: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a federal ban if Republicans gain control of Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #7: MEDICINE – it’s a medical issue. The plants and procedures to which zealots often object are over time found to be beneficial and subsequently integrated into medical treatment. Such is the case with both cannabis and abortifacients whose medicinal qualities have been known since antiquity, whose properties are determined to be safe, and whose uses are becoming more accepted and widespread.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #8: SAFETY – ignored. Why is it that the some of the safest human activities devolve into the most illegal, controversial and zealously contested political “footballs”? Both cannabis and abortion are deemed safe, yet saddled illegality and carceral sanctions.
FACT: “The best health care is provided free of political interference in the patient-physician relationship. Personal decision-making by women and their doctors should not be replaced by political ideology.” - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
FACT: Staying pregnant is more dangerous than having an abortion.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #9: PENALTIES – don’t fit the crime. Upon making something illegal, penalties that don’t fit the crime will often ensue. At a trillion-dollar cost, anti-drug zeal has resulted an extraordinary number of arrests and incarcerations, only find that prohibition doesn’t work. Is abortion doomed to harsh, escalating restrictions that in the end will prove to be more harmful than helpful?
FACT: Ohio H.B. 598 would prohibit causing an abortion – under it, a 4th degree felony – using a “substance” or an “instrument.” Even “promoting” abortion would be a 1st degree felony.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #10: ENFORCEMENT – unrelated, unequal, unfair. With zealots in control, there may be few short-term limits on how far they will go to enforce their ideologies. They can and will expand far beyond their single topic borders.
FACT: There are no chemical tests that can prove someone had an abortion – yet.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #11: THE STATES – laboratories of democracy. In the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision, many states are moving quickly to ban and legally advance abortion prohibition with “trigger laws” that take effect immediately after the Supreme Court ruling. The 50 states will legislate 50 different statutes for regulating abortion.
FACT: Possession of three ounces of cannabis in Idaho is a felony punishable by 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In Michigan, that amount in the home is no fine, no time.
TEACHABLE MOMENT #12: THE SOLUTIONS – activism. The cannabis example makes clear that draconian laws can change at the state level. Those responsible for these changes are not corporate executives sitting in board rooms. Rather, ordinary citizens – activists – using their personal time and talents to bring reason and logic to thorny debates..
FACT: several prochoice measures will be on the fall 2022 ballot: Arizona, California, Michigan, South Dakota, and Vermont. Opposition initiatives include: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Nevada.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #13: THE TOOLS – how to get it done. Activism is the key to changing the course of abortion or cannabis rights or any other social issue. Politicians and policy makers need to continually know that they are on the right track, what their options are, and what downsides are for veering. Coherent and compelling communication is essential. The opposition for both issues is quite active, so prochoice supporters must tell their stories in understandable and compelling ways using these activism tools.
Most importantly
VOTE
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
TEACHABLE MOMENT #14: INALIENABLE RIGHTS – it’s about freedom. This July 4th leaves many Americans the feeling that the country has drifted away from the inalienable rights it proports to celebrate as written in the Declaration of Independence: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. These rights belong to all U.S. citizens: cannabis advocates, abortion providers, medical doctors, and of course women. The enforcement of polices related to cannabis and abortion spit in the face of those American values, leaving this fundamental question:
Are legalized cannabis and legalized abortion so egregious that the United States should abandon the rights it has historically valued?
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
If the War on Drugs has taught us anything, it’s that prohibition doesn’t work. Even so, the fanatics will zealously pursue their lost cause. They will ignore popular support, prevalence, history and safety. They gloss over racism. Increased enforcement and harsher penalties won’t assuage them. They will try mightily, but in the end, they will fail. In the meantime, the best antidotes are the activism tools that deliver education and raise awareness.
© 2022 Borden Advisors
Mary Jane Borden is a best-selling author, talented artist, and award-winning cannabis activist from Westerville, Ohio. She was the 2019 winner of the Free Press Libby Award for Community Activism. During her 40-year career in drug policy, she co-founded seven cannabis-oriented groups, co-authored four proposed constitutional amendments, lobbied for six medical marijuana bills, penned over 90 Columbus Free Press articles and has given hundreds of media interviews.
Her artwork can be viewed at CannabinArt.com.
She can be reached at maryjaneborden@gmail.com.
Cannabis & Abortion Rights Activism – Teachable Moments