Originally published at Dope Magazine
BY SHWA LAYTART - DECEMBER 4, 2017
Are You a ‘Puffragette’?
“. . . Mary Janes: The Women of Weed may very well be the most important cannabis film of our time”
Mary Janes: The Women of Weed made its debut at the 40th Mill Valley Film Festival in San Rafael on October 8 of this year. Mere hours after the film aired, the town was evacuated due to the raging fires in Santa Rosa. The film follows director Windy Borman’s pursuit to uncover information regarding health benefits, gender roles, social justice and sustainability within the cannabis industry.
Mary Janes takes you on a journey through America’s cannabis history and how prohibition and the War on Drugs has failed. Betty Aldworth, Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policies, speaks passionately in the film, raising the issue of crime and punishment and questions if incarceration is the correct route for marijuana possession. The War on Drugs has disproportionately affected people of color, and women of color have had difficulties breaking into the cannabis industry. Wanda James, the first black woman to open a dispensary in Colorado, touches on this problem.
Windy struggled with the claims that cannabis has medical benefits, so she headed out to talk with the pros. She speaks with Dr. Sue Sisley, who conducts government research on PTSD and cannabis. But it’s not as easy as you would think. As Dr. Sisley puts it, “If I wanted to study the harms of marijuana, I would have all the government dollars I needed. But if you dare say you want to study efficacy of marijuana, those are the studies that are sort of systematically impeded by the government.” Mara Gordon, Founder of Aunt Zelda’s, is currently researching and collecting robust patient data. Each of us has an endocannabinoid system, we just need to understand how to tap into its benefits.
With around forty women featured in the film, Windy speaks to the hesitant grannies, soccer moms and women from all walks of life who’ve been afraid of cannabis but are now canna-curious. By the end of Mary Janes, Windy coins her own term for the movement: Puffragettes: {Noun} A woman (or man) who is working for gender parity, social justice and environmental sustainability in the cannabis industry.
If Puffragettes are leading the industry, guiding and helping others to understand the healing qualities and benefits of cannabis, then Mary Janes: The Women of Weed may very well be the most important cannabis film of our time; it’s the gateway to knowledge and shows outdated, misguided beliefs the door. Take it in and pass it on!
