Cannabis is a market disruptor. Many markets, actually. Cannabis as building materials, Cannabis as a biofuel, Cannabis as a nutritional source, Cannabis as a paper source, Cannabis in space. And of course, female plants for fun and pharmacopeia disrupt all sorts of things. In all of these instances, when you add this plant into the equation, the businesses already in these markets are going to have to move over and make room.

Cannabis Action Network was a market disruptor. Envision 1988. Jack Herer had written The Emperor Wears No Clothes. A troupe of young people was following Jack Herer, setting up rallies, selling books and speaking the truth about pot. NORML had been taken away from the activists and belonged to the lobbyists. It was the Reagan era, and the nation was passing long mandatory minimum drug sentences in Congress and throughout the states. Just Say No was the theme, and a river of funding supported Drug-Free initiatives in schools and studies of the harms associated with Cannabis.

Enter Cannabis Action Network. Our foremothers and forefathers began in the heart of adversity. The way I hear the story told, Debbie Goldsberry (one of the founders of Magnolia Wellness and a “Top 100 Names in Cannabis” today), Monica Pratt (cofounder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums), Kevin Aplin, Doug McVay, and many others created the Cannabis Action Network to give themselves legal standing when applying for rally permits. Like Johnny Appleseed, the Cannabis Action Network was crisscrossing the country planting seeds!

Cannabis Action Network was recognized as a powerful women-led organization by High Times in 1991. NORML for the suits and CAN for the rest of us. By the mid-1990s, chapters of Cannabis Action Network had sprung up around the country. Pikes Peak, Colorado published the Planting Seeds Newsletter; in Louisiana, a CAN chapter flourished; there was NY CAN, California CAN, and people from coast-to-coast holding up the CAN banner. The powerful lobbyist and DC think-tanks knew the powerful grassroots organizers who were speaking the truth while promoting the whole plant for the whole person. The movement to change minds about Cannabis was happening and the women and men of CAN, including influencers like Jack Herer and Ed Rosenthol, were its leaders.

When activists scattered across Florida were being persecuted and denied permits for lawful First Amendment gatherings, we needed an organization to give us legal standing. Kevin Aplin, a co-founder of Cannabis Action Network and president of LA CAN came to Florida to lend us their name and his experience. The rest is modern history.

Today, FLCAN continues the tradition as a market disruptor. We aren’t the go-along-to-get-along bunch. We aren’t willing to sacrifice the sacred in exchange for the mundane shades of grey that make up modern Cannabis laws. Our more than 25 years of experience, our national perspective, and our international partnerships give us a 25,000-foot view of the Cannabis situation. We don’t want a heavily regulated Cannabis industry that still leaves tens of thousands of people being arrested annually.,
We are still women-led and making history. Our team is a healthy mix of young and old, women and men, with an eclectic blend. Our president, Ethel Rowland, has surrounded herself with some amazing women and men.

FLCAN is the suits and the grassroots. We are a respected presence at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Our legislative team is Ethel Rowland; Tabitha Burress, Communications Chair; Tanya Bailey, our Veteran’s Liaison; and myself working day-in and day-out on legislative matters. Since the beginning of the legislative session in January 2020 we have crafted some of the very language that will be placed into law.

The other members of our Leadership Team are making history as a persistent voice for the benefits of Cannabis.

Josephine Krehl, Maria Hurley, Lisa Phillips, Lauren Drake, and Kara Kampmeyer have joined Carolyn Karpel in our Community Outreach. Groups around the state benefit from our women representing the plant at community events, cannabis-themed gatherings and acting locally day-to-day. Our own Jessi Brewer keeps the home fires burning by maintaining our membership list and our office in Melbourne. FLCAN knows about Cannabis and our team is still speaking truth to power and advocating for the whole plant for the whole person.

Florida CAN is quick to honor the men in our midst as well, but this is Women’s History Month.

It was an irony not lost on our leaders that International Women’s Day, Sunday, March 8th, was also the day we ‘spring forward’ losing an hour. So, ‘our day’ was only 23 hours long! More than 100-years after women won the right to vote, women still make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men in the same fields. Here at FLCAN where everyone is equal, no one is paid, so we all make the same zero dollars!

As people interested in Cannabis use, Cannabis business or Cannabis policy we have a lot to learn from the Women’s Movement. I often have channeled the likes of hero Alice Paul and was blessed to be mentored by the Great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women fought first to be seen – recognized as more than their father’s daughters or their husband’s wives. Then they fought for the right to vote. Today, the daughters and sons of those ‘sheroes’ fight for further equity through the ERA amendment to the federal Constitution.

Parody much. In the 1990s Cannabis use meant jail if you were caught. A kinder, gentler war on drugs sought to treat users. It was best to just not be seen. As medical marijuana caught fire across the world, it is now safe to be ‘out’ about medical Cannabis use and hemp use in most places. The women who represent FLCAN are going further.

FLCAN continues to disrupt the market and follow in our fore-mothers’ footsteps as we promote the Right of Adults to Cannabis. With new changes happening at the federal and international levels this is not the time to celebrate our victories, but rather to push our advantage.

After 80-years of prohibition, we can now add “Cannabis Consumer” to our list of likes and dislikes. Be seen and heard. With the passage of the Rights Restoration Amendment, restoring felon voting rights, even those who suffered a conviction for Cannabis can now claim the right to vote. Vote. Embrace your right to use Cannabis for food, fuel, fiber, pharmacopeia, fun or sacrament, as you choose. Join Florida CAN and be part of history.

Be Seen. Be Heard. Vote. Join

JJ/er/