Andrew's blog

I like to joke that my mom gave birth to closet doors and I was among the rubble, but in reality, I started coming out as a gay man when I was fourteen, during my freshman year of high school.

It took me over two years to really come out to everyone I knew, and now, ten years later, I still remember what it felt like to be in the closet with the doors shut tight.

A few weeks back, I attended an OR NORML meeting (Oregon's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and was intrigued by how many of the speakers encouraged the crowd to "Come out of the closet!" as cannabis users. And how strongly that message resonated with the membership, especially given that the attendees were medical marijuana cardholders!

The platform was simple: to change mainstream perceptions of cannabis users, the mainstream needs to see whom users are. And in particular, the only thing that makes cannabis users different from folks who do not is just that: cannabis use.

Eco-feminism connects two seemingly disparate causes: environmental and social justice. Change the way humans interact with our environment and ultimately change the way we interact with each other. Solutions that simple in theory are often hard to come across in practice.

Often, but not impossible, for 2010 does have an eco-feminist solution to some of our current woes: The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA).

OCTA ends the prohibition on cannabis and hemp, nullifies the declaration that a plant, a natural organism that existed long before humans, is illegal, wrong and should not exist on our planet. It’s one small step in ending environmental oppression. And therefore, one small step towards social justice.

The passage of OCTA has farther-reaching implications than we can even imagine right now. It lays the groundwork for this work to begin nationwide, and even globally. It begins to shift public opinion about people’s relationship with our environment from domination to commensalism.