garden and yelled to my husband.“ Honey, your plants are taller than my tomatoes. The whole neighborhood can see them.” Not a minute later, there was a knock at the door. Two cops at the door and one discreet cop car, unlike the twelve cop cars and scary black drug task force SUVs that swarmed our driveway in 2014 for the same number of plants.
Gene argued that they were just turning him into a criminal and that he would now have to find a street dealer. In an act of humanity, the cops took three of his six plants, cut down the other three, and left them in the garden. I was left at home with my two babies. They took my fifteen-year-old brother instead, even though he volunteered to babysit and let them take me. They didn’ t handcuff the fellas after extracting an agreement; they would ride along peacefully. An hour later, they were home on a $ 100 bond for Gene. My brother was released to my custody since he was a minor.
October 14, 1982, and Then Came Nancy
On this day, President Ronald Reagan declared the“ War on Drugs,” and First Lady Nancy Reagan introduced the“ Just Say No” campaign, which led to DARE and to most of us giving up on cannabis. We became afraid of our kids, who were busy finding and throwing away our weed, and we feared they would turn us in at school.
ALEC( American Legislative Exchange Council), formed in the 1970s, with members such as the Koch brothers, came out of the woodwork like cockroaches to form the private prison industry. To profit from prisons, it introduced the harshest sentencing guidelines, aside from the death penalty, for any drug charge, down to a roach. Three strikes, even for cannabis only, and you’ re out of civilization for life without the possibility of parole. To date, the bill to taxpayers for private prisons exceeds $ 5.5 billion. 3
The Illusion of Legalization
Despite all the reforms, as of April 2026, for cannabis only offenses, 3,000 citizens remain in federal prison, more than 190,000 people were arrested in 2024, and roughly 20-40 thousand remain incarcerated within the states. At least 70 people are still serving life sentences under Reagan’ s three strikes, no possibility of parole laws from the 1980s. 4 None of us has ever really been safe.
Blues and the Unexpected Reunion
Recently, I went out for a night of music with my EVOLUTION Crew. My dog Butch was in the car. As I came out to check on him, I passed a man on the sidewalk who caught my eye.“ Dolores?” he said. It took me a moment. He had to tell me he was the childhood friend who, at fourteen, introduced me to my husband. We had not seen each other in over fifty years. This was the kid my husband ran weed with from Mexico across the Rio Grande in 1973.
Their moms had to write notarized notes for their teenage sons, permitting them to go to Mexico. I recently found the note Gene’ s mom wrote in an old box of papers.
My oldest grandson was with me at BBs, and for the next half hour, he was regaled with stories about his grandfather’ s escapades.“ I saved his life once, you know,” he told my grandson.“ We waded across the Rio Grande into Mexico, but when we came back, it had rained, and the river was roaring. Your grandpa took his boots off and tied them together around his neck. His boots got caught in the current and pulled him under. I pulled him out of the Rio Grande.”
I listened, awestruck by the encounter, as he continued to tell us stories.
India recently retooled the statue of Lady Justice, taking off the blindfold and replacing her sword with the Constitution. I’ m with India. It is far past time for the blinders to come off, and the bullies to quit ruling the roost.
F ** k‘ em Bucky
My little brother Jim is a jewel. His mantra in life has been,“ F ** k‘ em, Bucky.” I wish we could, but jail is real, and it sucks, and I only spent eight days there. We can all end up there if we break the law.
Buck Up Little Troopers
We can’ t go back, only forward. Despite all the confusion and discourse, in the end, good always triumphs, and our plant is good. The main difference between history and today— We Are Engaged. We are paying attention, and we will sort this out. At least the rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III( for medical use) is a step forward, yet more work needs done.
1. https:// en. wikipedia. org / wiki / Legal _ history _ of _ cannabis _ in _ the _ United _ States
2. https:// budrcannabis. com / blog / hemp-to-cannabis-americas-forgotten-foundation-and-future / 3. www. prisonpolicy. org / research / economics _ of _ incarceration / 4. www. gazettextra. com / news / nation _ world / life-in-prison-for-a-firsttime-nonviolent-cannabis-charge-on-4-20-ssdp-brings / article _ 220d4a9d-dd07-5d88-8fb5-63aecc27d32c. html
Dolores Montgomery Halbin, RN, BSN, and Ordained Nurse Minister, resides in SW Missouri. After her husband passed in 2015, she retired from nursing. She worked with the 2014-2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana. She continues as a cannabis reform activist working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism. Doloreshalbin @ gmail. com.
Notice: The information contained herein is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, but rather a sharing of knowledge and information based on research and experience. The content is the authors opinion only and solely for general informational, entertainment purposes.
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