If I had a dollar for every article I’ve seen talking about ‘fill in the blank celebrity’ getting caught on camera smoking marijuana or leaving a dispensary, I would have enough money to run marijuana legalization initiatives in multiple states. I know a lot of people love reading these types of articles. People see these celebrity marijuana articles and think, ‘Sweet, that celebrity smokes marijuana just like me!’ I am not one of those people however. I look at those articles and think, ‘It must be nice to be above the law. Meanwhile everyday marijuana consumers are arrested everyday because they are not famous.’
I want to challenge all marijuana consuming celebrities to put their money where their mouths are. Or at least lend their celebrity voice to the marijuana reform movement. I want marijuana consuming celebrities to realize that just because they can consume marijuana in freedom, doesn’t mean the rest of us can. That’s why we fight so hard for sensible marijuana laws. As history has shown, average marijuana consumers have to fight as hard as we can to be heard, and we are often brushed aside and labeled as ‘quack stoners.’
If more celebrities fought for marijuana reform, it would speed up the process of success. Celebrities have deep pockets. It would only take one dedicated, wealthy celebrity to run a marijuana initiative campaign in most states. I know if a celebrity was willing to put up one million dollars, marijuana legalization would become a reality in my home state of Oregon. For that matter, if a celebrity would use their stature to even talk often about marijuana legalization, it would help out a lot and it wouldn’t cost a penny. A celebrity talking on a national stage about marijuana reform would be significant – far more significant than an average person talking about marijuana reform at their local supermarket.
One of my favorite sites on the entire internet is the Marijuana Majority. The Marijuana Majority website highlights famous people that have come out in support of marijuana reform. I tip my hat to people like Willie Nelson (who donated to the Oregon legalization campaign in 2012) and Tommy Chong who talk often about marijuana reform and lend their celebrity stature to the marijuana reform movement. I want to challenge other celebrities to be like them. It’s great that people like Rihanna, Justin Beiber, and Miley Cyrus smoke marijuana, and that they are often featured in article photos doing so. However, I would rather see these same celebrities being featured in articles talking about how they donated to the cause, or volunteered for a campaign, or at least talked about a campaign as a spokesperson or official supporter or something.
Which celebrity would you like to see join the Marijuana Majority? Which celebrity do you think could do more than they are already doing? I look forward to reading your comments.
