I am amazed at the amount of people who think that their activism begins at the protest and ends at the end of the event. Activism is something that puts you to sleep at the end of a long day and wakes you up early driven to do more. Activism happens EVERYWHERE.
Often, the most effective activism you can do is in normal every day conversations with friends, neighbors, co-workers, or even the lady in line at the grocery store. There is always room to squeeze in a conversation about weed and why our current weed policies in this country are absolute failures. It is the little things in weed activism that make the wheels turn. The reason we see the most recent tracking polls above 50% in favor of legalizing cannabis for adults is because our society at large is having this conversation more often and more prominently. We are seeing a very healthy dialogue taking place in real time, where more people have begun to find their voice on this issue.
It is no longer just Snoop Dogg out there preaching weed love. There are crazy right wingers like Pat Robertson and Tom Tancredo jumping on board. You see Brad Pitt and Richard Branson making waves a lot on the failed drug policies of our country. Civil Rights groups, like the NAACP, are supporting ending the mass incarceration of mostly poor and minority folks for weed. There is a deep, and more honest, conversation happening out there than has ever been had in my life time. I could not be happier.
But it is up to us to continue to fuel that fire. It is up to us to take a well-publicized statement and turn it into many conversations with folks who need to be educated. We need to share that story on Facebook and Twitter for all of our friends to see. We must send letter, and emails, and make phone calls, and continue to use our time and energy to break down the barriers of misinformation that keeps our plant from its righteous place in our daily lives.
It is the little things that will end this thing. It is great that there are big picture things happening to be a part of. But the ground game happens every day in your normal life patterns. That is where we reach those who just need a little encouragement, or some knowledge, to get their support for the cause. Those folks will not be at the rally and may not see the protest on TV; but they know YOU and they respect your opinion. Use that influence to make a case for the cause.
They say weedheads are about 10-15% of the population. That means if all of us made a commitment to talk to ten of our neighbors, we could reach everyone in America with a message of cannabis freedom. Do those little things today. Track down a stranger and tell them why weed is awesome. Buy a cool weed shirt and start a conversation. Put an end the drug war sticker on your car. Write an email for weed. Make a phone call for weed. If we all do one little thing a day we can end this thing tomorrow. DO IT!