I Am Thankful For… Turkey, Pot and Magic Pies

0

Moms For Marijuana

​​By Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town
Northern California Correspondent

I am Thankful for the activists and the good people I’ve met this year at rallies and protests who’ve come out and made a difference.
I am Thankful for the lawyers and the leaders who take on unchecked, abusive power-dogs who threaten the movement and counteract with lawsuits and intelligence, never giving up the fight on our behalf.
I am Thankful for Lynnette Shaw and Marin Alliance for being the first legal dispensary to open in the country, and Thankful that when she was told to close, she’s said “No!”
I am Thankful for all the patients that the Divinity Tree in San Francisco reached and ministered to. I am Thankful that Charlie and the gang had at least five years to present an ideal dispensary model to the City and they did. I’m Thankful for the education and medicine that I received there.


Rolling Paper Depot

​I am Thankful for Raw papers.
I am Thankful for all those that sign online petitions and continue when it gets tough.
I am Thankful for those ones who understand the difference between the Movement and the Industry.
I’m also Thankful for the ones who don’t.
I am Thankful for when my 86-year-old Mother calls from her retirement home in Arizona and says, “Jackie, there’s something going on with your Medical Marijuana down here.”
I am Thankful for having a place to live and a family to share it with.
I am Thankful for Organic Turkey and pumpkin pie — infused. 
I am Thankful for all the lawmen and police officers that have come out for patients’ rights and helping us to educate a fearful public with the men and women who’ve been there.

THC Farmer
She’s my Cherry Pie.

​I am Thankful for the strains Humboldt Royal Kush, Chem Dawg O.G., Solar Sour Diesel, Cherry Pie, and so many more…
I am Thankful for having such an astute editor and colleague who continues to let me send in random words that he somehow fashions into a column. 
I am Thankful that when one door closes, another opens. Every day in Toke of the Town I read about one state that is closing dispensaries while another state contemplates legalization.
I am Thankful for going to Amsterdam while it was still fun.
I am Thankful for NORML for being there since I was a kid.
I am Thankful for NORML Women’s Alliance for putting the fun back into functions. The events held this year by N/WA, were the most fun and informative. To be surrounded by thoughtful women seeking Liberty, Justice and who are cool with me lighting up wherever… that’s Heaven.  (Say it with the Jon Stewart high, dreamy voice.)

PotShots.org

​I am Thankful for all the growers who continue to grow under the sun even when the federal government threatens to hide the sun.
I am Thankful for the local law enforcement officers who are caught in the middle of a federal power play and asked the tough questions of our leaders against cannabis even when those questions are left unanswered.
I am Thankful for the young people who otherwise could think of themselves as invincible but march and demonstrate for the others that can’t.    
I am Thankful for the dispensaries that are still open.
I am Thankful for half of the population of the United States that supports the legalization of cannabis.
I am Thankful for the European nations and countries that have either decriminalized or legalized cannabis in the last year. Way to go Copenhagen

Pete Santos/Seattle Hempfest
Vivian McPeak is cool, and we at Toke are thankful for him.

​I am Thankful for Vivian McPeak for being so cool. When I made a mistake this year sending in the wrong copy, Viv called me on it. When I called him up to say I was sorry, expecting a verbal whooping, instead I met a compassionate guy relating to one making a mistake and told me not to worry about it. 
I am Thankful for Hempfest in Seattle for having such a rich legacy and like Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin, for being a bright flame for the rest of us to see and maybe even get a light off of… 
I am Thankful for the research being done on CBD’s and CBN’s. Even though this might lead to Big Pharma’s takeover of the plant, it still helps people.
I am Thankful for all the people who do not smoke cannabis but still support it. 
I am Thankful for Rick Simpson and others who have conducted personal research in spite of powerful adversaries who say that there isn’t any medical value to this plant even though it IS saving lives.
I am Thankful for the groups like Americans for Safe Access and others who work tirelessly, organizing with a four cent budget and continue to strive for Patients’ Rights in spite of overwhelming odds.
I am Thankful for all the dispensaries and access points that hand out free buds to less fortunate patients who otherwise would go without. 
I am Thankful for the Stay-At-Home dealers and the black markets that still exist in states that do not allow Medicinal Marijuana and those that do. It is you, the good women and men that keep alternative markets alive for users and patients, in case that the Feds decide that legal cannabis is just too…legal. 
I am Thankful for all the websites, periodicals, magazines that call out the hypocrisy surrounding cannabis.
I am Thankful for all the watchdogs that keep an investigative eye on G.W. Pharmaceuticals, waiting for their takeover of medical marijuana.
I am most Thankful for a plant that can do so much: confuse and heal, gets y
ou high and gets you feeling no pain. A plant that has undiscovered potential and yet is known intimately to many of us who have been doing our own experiments and testing.
I am Thankful for the many, many people I’ve met through our shared love of cannabis. 
And lastly, I am Thankful for the numerous readers of Toke of the Town who support this column and allow Steve, myself and others to have a voice and more importantly, a place to be heard.
Thanks to all of you…
P.S. Tell me what I missed being thankful for this year.
More Later,
Jack

Photo: Jack Rikess
Toke of the Town correspondent Jack Rikess blogs from the Haight in San Francisco

Jack Rikess, a former stand-up comic, writes a regular column most directly found at jackrikess.com.

Jack delivers real-time coverage following the cannabis community, focusing on politics and culture.

His beat includes San Francisco, the Bay Area and Mendocino-Humboldt counties.

He has been quoted by the national media and is known for his unique view with thoughtful, insightful perspective.


Share.