Incarcerated Canna-Moms

This Mother’s Day ˈärdər botanicals wants to take a moment to recognize all of the mothers that have been incarcerated due to the war on cannabis. These canna-moms do not get to enjoy breakfast in bed made by their children, don’t get to tuck their kiddos in at night, and many won’t even have the opportunity to see their children on Mother’s Day this year. In honor of these women and their families, we have partnered up with The Mary Jane Experience to raise funds in a special Mother’s Day prize pack raffle.

ˈärdər botanicals is a female owned company. What some people don’t know is that ˈärdər is not only female owned, not just family owned, but mother and daughter owned.

”My mom is my best friend, so it means everything to be able to work with her! We stay mindful of each other’s feelings, and we encourage each other to push back when we disagree. In the beginning I deferred to her a lot because well she’s my mom, and I think she knows everything; but realistically that’s not always the case. We’ve had to be able to have brutally honest discussions with each other, which has also positively effected the way we handle our personal relationship. That openness has allowed us to communicate better than we ever have both in business and outside of it.” says daughter Heather.

Owner Operators Nicole and Heather Lambert have the opportunity to work together in the cannabis industry when so many have been put in prison for the same thing, in another time in another place.

ˈärdər does not believe that non-violent cannabis crimes should carry the weighty sentences they currently do in many areas of the country. Especially when some of these women’s only cannabis crimes are that they wanted to protect their children and sought alternative medical options to do so.

Heather’s mother Nicole remembers a time when she too could (and would) have made the choice to illegally obtain cannabis and potentially been sent to jail for doing so.

“When Heather was 4 months old, she was diagnosed with a very rare, very aggressive cancer; malignant rhabdoid tumor. We immediately went from diagnosis, to surgery, but the tumor had started to grow back before we were even discharged. This was all in the span of four weeks.

It was decided to start chemotherapy.

Looking back now I don’t remember ever feeling like there was another choice. There were no options, no choices given. We were so young, I was 17 and my husband was 21, and we definitely got treated like we were.

‘Do you want her to die?’ I actually got asked that. But, 9 months of chemo, and 2 months of radiation later, Heather was dying. The tumor was still there, but that wasn’t what was killing her, it was the chemotherapy. I can’t explain it, but somewhere, deep in me, I knew if she had one more round of chemo it would be the last.

So I refused the next round of treatment.

I fought with my family, the doctors, and worst of all, my husband. Call it mother’s intuition, or my highest self, but I know that there was something supernaturally natural in that decision.

In my life, I’ve never been more certain of another thing, and I believe ultimately that’s what convinced her dad. This time WE decided what to do.

I wish cannabis had been an option for us, but not only was it illegal, we knew nothing about its healing capabilities. Now we have that information, and 26 years later, not enough has changed to allow parents to treat their kids with cannabis instead of ravaging them with chemotherapy!

In this “free” country, there are mothers in prison for seeking alternative, natural plant treatments, for their children. If I had been able to utilize cannabis for Heather, if for nothing more that to ease her suffering, I would have happily taken that risk 100 times, as would any mother, but we shouldn’t have to! On top of that, I could have been put in prison for trying to save my daughter’s life if I did try and use cannabis to help her.

We have mother’s in prison for non-violent cannabis use, separated from their children, while the CEO’s of corporate cannabis make millions off of the same plant.”

While the information on the number of mothers incarcerated for cannabis related crimes isn’t necessarily a statistic that is currently being tracked, we do have information about the number of mothers incarcerated today. According to a Drug Policy Alliance report released in May of 2018, there are over 120,000 mothers incarcerated this Mother’s Day, with an estimated 8,500 of those women in prison on drug charges. It is also estimated that at least 62% of parents, mothers and fathers, are incarcerated over 100 miles away from their families.

So what can be done to help these women who are separated from their families not just on Mother’s Day, but 365 days of the year?

This year The Mary Jane Experience is holding a raffle, with all proceeds going to Root & Rebound, A Reentry Advocacy Center. Each ticket costs just $1 and enters you to win a package of prizes with a value of over $1,300. The winner of the raffle will get:

1 Case of CBD Bars and 1 Case CBD Mini’s from LuLu’s ($154 and $99 Value)

A Bud Vase from My Bud Vase – $99 Value

CBD Tincture and Vaporizer from Lady Jane – ($55 + $60 Value)

5 Perfume Oils from Herb Essntls ($60 Each)

Mens or Womens T From Couture 420 ($24 Value)

6-sheet pack, a cone, a stash jar and a lighter From Shine Papers ($92 Value)

Menstrual Relief Balm (CBD), and Detoxifying Bath Bomb (CBD) From Arder Botanicals (Value $98 and $80)

1 Clear Quartz Crystal Healing Wand Pipe from Hippie Naturals (Value $49)

Smoking Accessories from 420 Science

Tote Bag, Hat, Towel, Socks, and a Secret Mystery Gift from Aster Farms (Value $100)

Journal and Card Pack from GoldLeaf (Value $25)

$50 Gift Certificate to Tokeativity

Mary Jane Experience Tank Top – ($35 Value)

4 Packs of Cones from Beautiful Burns Rolling Papers (a $48 Value)

Please take time to visit The Mary Jane Experience website and purchase a raffle ticket. Drawing will be held tomorrow, Sunday May 12, during their Mother’s Day podcast. And if you are reading this after the drawing, please visit Root & Rebound to donate.