It’s Ladies Night at NORML SHOW LIVE as we discuss “Women & Marijuana”

This weekend on NORML SHOW LIVE, we take a look at the rising influence of women in the movement to end adult marijuana prohibition. In 2009, the Gallup poll found the support for legalization of marijuana among women rose by a whopping 12% in just four years! We’ll examine the trends that are causing women in greater numbers than ever before to support marijuana law reform.

Medical marijuana has certainly been part of the trend. We’ll visit with Dr. Julie Holland, author of the New York Times bestseller “Weekends at Bellevue”, her tale of nine years working in the psychiatric emergency room of the famous New York Hospital. Dr. Holland has been an effective advocate for medical marijuana recently on the NBC Today show.

Then we speak to Mieko Hester-Perez, a recent guest of Diane Sawyer’s on Good Morning America. Ms. Hester-Perez talks about the miracle medical marijuana has provided for her severely autistic son and the complications of treating him with a very controversial medicine.

We continue the discussions, looking beyond medical marijuana and into the so-called “Stiletto Stoner” phenomenon of young professional women who prefer marijuana over martinis when it comes to socializing and relaxing. We also cover the increasing number of mothers who are calling for an end to prohibition as a means of protecting their children from the harms of an unregulated black market.

Our panel of NORML Women from coast to coast includes:

• Tonya Davis – NORML’s 2009 Pauline Sabin Award Winner and Executive Director of Miami Valley NORML in Ohio
• Anne Davis – NORML Legal Committee Attorney and NORML NJ Boardmember
• Cheryl Shuman – Executive Director of Beverly Hills NORML 90210
• Linda Adler – Executive Director of US Virgin Islands NORML
• Tanya Burgess – Georgia NORML Boardmember

These accomplished women will tell us why they’ve decided to join NORML and why other women should, too.

Medical Marijuana: Why I Give My 9-Year Old Pot

In the recent wake of Stiletto Stoners, comes part two of Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s brave and revealing account of how medical cannabis helps her autistic 9-year old son. Read part one here.

Marie and her son J. live in Rhode Island, a state where the legislators have both the chutzpah and foresight to have overridden two vetoes from the Governor (and pressure from the federal government anti-drug officials and law enforcement) in the last 24 moths to create the legal and public health framework necessary for Ms. Young and her physician to be able to effectively and safely treat J. with cannabis-oil cookies.

This essay, and others by women for whom cannabis plays an important role in their lives, are becoming more and more common in the mainstream media to the point where a forum or advisory body about ‘women and cannabis’ is certainly warranted.

NORML wants to convene such a confab in 2010 and seeks input from cannabis consumers and the general public about what kind of topics should be discussed and who should the speakers be. Please send your suggestions and feedback to: conference@norml.org

This essay was originally published at Doublex.com.