I have a few friends who drink and do not smoke, I have a couple of friends (RARE) that have never smoked and  I have many friends that use cannabis medical and recreational. 
All is fine. I am not about to tell anyone what they can and can not do BUT - I AM more educated now on a few things.  I read in my book - living Buddha, living Christ - if you have never tried apple juice that how can you describe it? IF you do not know what you are talking about 0r if you have not experienced something then really - what can you possibly have to say about it? ESPECIALLY with Cannabis.  My Cannabis research brought me to Alcohol awareness.  I've had that apple juice. LOL - Oh, I drank long before I smoked - so I guess in MY case - Alcohol was my stepping stone. So drink or smoke - BUT don't dare tell me smoking is bad for me when you hold that toxic cocktail in your hand.  I am concerned now for many of my friends, I do notice that with age most of the drinkers appear to be slowing down naturally. Can't quite seem to do a hangover like we use to. I can tell you I am DONE. I shall drink no more. BUT perhaps my cartoons can save a few young adults from  such a harsh education - or at least get them to think. I won't lecture my friends who do drink - unless they tell me how bad cannabis is. 
There is NO comparison. Cannabis is a MUCH safer alternative to Alcohol.  FACT 
LIVING PROOF - Millions of us! So all we can do is spread the word, get more people aware of the lies and encourage them to find out for themselves. If they are curious they will look into it.  Sadly we are so 'saturated' with alcohol in our WORLD - It will always be a problem  It is another industry that makes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ too much to just go away. 
So CHEERS! Think before you DRINK! 
*Last night I had a very bad brain attack. It had me considering waking up my hubby to take me to emerg. but the problem is they only last about 10 mins - PROBLEM!?  Thank God - they only last that long. Every time I have one that is that bad - after I wonder - what is going on? What is this? Why don't they know what it is?  Could it be from my past actions/habits?  I guess there is no point to that so before I drifted off I promised, should God wake me today I was going to DRAW! Draw and spend some fun time with my son who is home today! Breakfast - walk the dogs .. Thank you for another day.
Make a difference today -  Plant the seed. Help end the insanity and suffering for many. 
xox <><

The other night I was tired - one of those days, sore and grumpy, a day my twitch did NOT quit and felt in much need of some real time out. TUB TIME. Time to soak & think, or soak and NOT think! BUT mostly to RELAX. In the past have a nice glass of wine to drink (a couple even)! All this very acceptable  - even encouraged - un-wind mom - have a glass of wine! MOMs of planet unite! WHO doesn't love a tub? I do. 
*  I keep it to a minimum - I do have  hard time soaking in that much water when I know some don't have any to drink, I do cave from time to time I am only human damn it!! 
 Tub time ?
Norm knows- he usually runs it for me -  it is a bit of a production: candles, sketch pad and 3 pencils, dry wash cloth so I don't wet sketch pad, wet wash cloth to - wash, speakers, ipod, more candles, bath bomb from LUSH, cup of tea (Teaopia - sleep well) and a JOINT rolled by my son - I am not joint roller.    For the number of times I take a bath - to calm my nerves, try to figure stuff out, soak, 1 hour! I DESERVE IT! WE DESERVE IT!!! We are in our own homes. We are not harming anyone. We NEED A BREAK! Quite frankly - Better a joint than a glass of wine! YOU could spill, break the glass - into the tub (been there done that)  I'm not joking.  
 I was beyond grumpy - I was borderline miserable.  I needed that tub. After only a few moments I could feel the stress release up into the smoke that filled the tiny room. My thoughts once again returned to come up with ideas, thinking about all I have to be thankful for LIKE the amazing, warm, clean, beautiful water I soak in. I thank God for it.  

A spark of light in the darkness -a glimmer of hope  is all we need.  
People ask me how long does it take to draw a cartoon - I usually say a couple of hours from start to finish but some take me much longer. When does the cartoon start ? When I first get the idea, then I usually think about wording ( hardest part) imagine the image, then I sketch the image in erasable pencil crayon, marker the wording and ink the drawing with a brush, let dry & erase - color with pencil crayon, go over with water brush - scan -done. So realistically most drawing I'd say take 4 hours+. To me that's nothing,  seems like seconds when I' working on a drawing I love.  Some take much longer - some I will think about for days. Custom work  takes even longer - I like to get a feel for who I am drawing.  The above toon took me a long time I painted all of it in a number 1 brush - but I needed it, the time to think and medicate & meditate in paint. 
I have several new toons that need to be colored today- thankfully I am NOT hungover! Yippie!! Another holiday - St. Patty's day and when you don't drink you feel terrific knowing you are surrounded by hangovers! LOL  Been there done that an I don't have a problem with most that do so now. Unless they drive, get abusive, vomit in public, etc.... MODERATION.
I know from first hand experience with drinking moderation is hard to accomplish - you have few - and then you can't seem to remember how many you have had and have a few more.  Today I am drawing a toon (collage - more like it) of Harper and Obama and alcohol,
both in todays paper raising a glass! I kinda feel sorry for the Irish,  responsible for the official day of drinking! Oh well. Sooner or later we get it. I hope. Most of us.
Hung over today? Your problem, not mine.   Thank God. 
But like a little light -- a glimmer of hope - you will feel better in a day or two.
Water, asprin (moderation), something to absorb the toxins and rest!! I use to like a greasy burger and poutine for a hang over, that or  beautiful bowl of RAMEN, Preferably in the sunshine outside;-) 

I was out the other day and saw these wine glasses at a big department store. Wine glass that says on it  'Mommy's sippy cup'. What kind of message is that sending to kids? Yet no one seems overly concerned.  O.K don't get me wrong, I LOVE a nice glass of wine - well did, and will still from time to time enjoy a nice glass on a special occasion (love Toasted Head *red) - so it's NOT about the wine. I have had several times when someone has commented on what I was wearing, once it was earrings with  cannabis leaves on them; made for me by an artist friend and beautiful with green beads, another time was a necklace that another friend bought me - it has a glass pot leaf, black on one side and colorful on the other. Both times I had negative comments. Over a leaf, nowhere do they say 'SMOKE grass' or 'Pick Pot' .. or 'Mommy's leafy helper'.  Yet for some reason these 'Mommy's sippy cup' are not only acceptable but it sells for about$12 a glass -Not filled with wine.  
A sippy cup is what little babies & toddlers use so they don't spill stuff so what exact message are we trying to send? This is your sippy cup and when you get bigger this is a sippy cup too. Who will be blamed when the child has an alcohol problem? Mommy's sippy cup?  YET this is O.K.?  Alcohol -legal, kills people every day, destroys lives, physically and financially, Cannabis saves lives, eases pain and suffering, helps people unwind and has never killed anyone - Illegal.  YET -I get dirty looks for a necklace?    
I am very tired of the double standards. I do know people who can drink in moderation - I will admit I know many more that don't - they drink to feel shit faced.  
Some of the worst to criticize Cannabis users are Alcohol consumers.  If you want to drink - drink, but how dare anyone criticize someone for their Cannabis use, especially when used for medicinal reasons. Don't smoke a joint but pop back a few martini's -that's o.k.
F*&^%$ Hypocrites.  A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation.
Adlai E. Stevenson
 Cannabis a problem? ALCOHOL is a serious problem with our young all around the world.
And Mommy's little sippy cup is NOT helping.  

'Reefer madness' was really just a marketing ploy against cannabis. Playing on the minds of uneducated, instilling fear into the masses about something they knew little about to begin with. Roofie Madness.. YIKES!!  I recently really learned about Roofies after an article in the paper. Roofie is slang - Its a pill form of the drug rohypnal which causes the taker...or in this case victim..to lose all self control, independence and slight conscious loss so that they can be raped without resistance. Most cases involve the rapist putting the disolvable pill into an unattended beverage. 
Side effects: The most worrying side effect of rohypnol is that it can easily be administered without the victims knowledge and lengthy sexual assaults can take place with the victim having no memory of events afterwards. In many cases, victims are even unaware that assaults have taken place until their symptoms are recognised or their memory returns. It's a very nasty drug.
Be very wary of accepting opened drinks from strangers or people you don't trust, even if they are only soft drinks. If you feel odd, nauseous or drunk after only a couple of drinks, leave immediately and go to a place of safety. If you are alone or with a stranger, call friends to tell them where you are and/or go to the landlord or manager and explain your situation. 
Health risks: Used on its own, Rohypnol is unlikely to be fatal, but when combined with other drugs such as alcohol  the risk increases greatly - as the drug suppresses the central nervous and respiratory systems, there's a chance that you could stop breathing. Other side effects include hallucinations, vertigo, skin rashes, stomach problems and changes in libido.
If you ask me ROOFIES are terrible - What kind of a man would do such a thing?
NOT much of one at all. 
If you have a daughter and YOU do NOT educate her on THIS drug you are failing as a parent.  I would start at age 12.  IF you have a son and do not share with him how disgusting using a drug like this is on another human being - you are failing as a human.
xox

It's fun to say 'been there done that' when referred to such places as Atlantis in 'the Bahamas, Disney land.. BUT not so fun to say 'been there done that' as seen above. I'm honest. I have been there done that. Far too many times than I care to remember/admit in the case of the  big bowl.  So YES, I speak from experience and it is perhaps those experiences that allow me to draw what I do today. How many times have you got drunk?
For me, I seemed to be fine and then one drink too many and I was beyond the point of no return. There is nothing like a hangover.  With alcohol - never mind all the other arguments - it is so easy to lose control. You think your having a great time and then - it hits you. The old saying 'one tequila, two tequila, three tequila - floor." Sadly many people drive under this condition, fight, black out, argue and damage and hurt - all under the influence of alcohol- only to say the next day - "I AM sorry - I was drunk."  That makes it o.k.?  NO. 
*Booze so easy to get, a cornucopia of selections, cheap and tasty  until its coming back up.
Then it tastes like the true poison that it is.
Cannabis, I personally have never had a hangover from Cannabis. I have talked with some friends and the top complaint the morning after is at most - the munchies and being tired.  
I did have someone tell me he got very sick but admitted he probably had a 
*Jeffrey: a mammoth joint filled entirely with an assortment of drugs. Marijuana, opium, angel dust, meth, painkillers etc. Half of the ingredients are unknown, but one things for sure, it f*&^# you up.  But straight cannabis alone...   YOU won't wake up not knowing where you are with your head in a toilet bowl, wondering only God knows what happened and if the photos will later show up on FB! A Jeffery is also a problem that would be eliminated should Cannabis become LEGAL and we were in control of what we got and where we got it.  
IF I had a daughter -preferably 18 and up - knowing what I now know I would be sharing with her my past experiences in hopes that she might avoid some of the same mistakes. WHY lie?  I would also be telling her that if she feel she needs to let lose - please do it with some organic bud.  
The irony of Alcohol being legal, the facts - ALCOHOL does kill every day! 
Cannabis is illegal and has NEVER killed anyone .  
Somethin' pretty fishy goin' on round here.  Could it be about $$$$$$  ????

Before someone wants to ask me "why pick on blonds" in my drawings?    
All I have to say is :
Been there done that!
xox <><    

Everyday you can read about drunk drivers, and that is usually just the stories where they have killed someone.  Many do not realize that even if no one is killed  the results from a impaired driving charge can be devastating - not to mention $$$$ - court, your record, insurance (that will not pay if you are impaired) shame and the tole it takes on a family. They happen every day, at all times of the day - I use to think; I don't like to be out on the roads late  for fear of impaired drivers - then I saw a lady on T.V who killed a little girl because she was impaired at 9:30 a.m.   I will admit when I was younger I did drive impaired and I have thanked God that I did not kill anyone or hurt myself. We hear about it all the time, we read about it all the time and we continue to do it all the time...  
 It is hard NOT to get caught up in the cannabis/alcohol comparison when you start to research all of this. If anything should be illegal it is alcohol.
Been there done that..  that is NOT going to happen.  
*NOW more proof: 
http://www.businessinsider.com/it-turns-out-that-smoking-marijuana-may-actually-make-you-a-better-driver-2011-12    
 proof that  *1 given the option people would rather get 'high" than drink alcohol. Why? Because they know Cannabis is safer. *2 Cannabis does make people more cautious drivers. Well with a couple of exceptions, I've noticed AGAIN its the person not the pot.  Aggressive, bad drivers - are still bad drivers. But I have been with many drivers that are 'high' medicated and noticed a sense of calm.  I can tell you about a year ago I was having a bad day and took a pain pill for my arthritis, 20 mins. later I was feeling so doped out I had to cancel plans because I knew I could not drive.   
I AM NOT saying to drive HIGH either. Different peole are effected  by Cannabis in different ways. IF you are not in control of your mind/body you should not get behind the wheel! Guess what makes people the second most dangerous drivers? - Prescribed medications, and then sleep  - being tired. 
Hmmm.. Cannabis once again seems to be less harmful that several other things. 
Also this was only once recent article on the driving thing.. want more proof  - start to research it - you will be amazed, confused and angry.
Drive Safe! Please do not drink and drive. xox <><

Do you know someone like this? If you answer no - then you live in a cave. We are not smokers - non of us in the house and we don't allow smokers. Why would we? It is our home/haven and to humor the occasional smoker  just does not make sense. We do have a back deck with some ashtrays ;-)  I am lucky my mom never smoked either- I think this is how I escaped the temptation of tobacco, but my grandma - she smoked as did other family members and countless friends. I remember as a kid going to the store for my 'Nanny' to buy her her cigs. I was little!  I'd ask and they hand them to me! No I.D. no questions asked.  Luckily some changes have been made since then - that and the price of cigarettes - I imagine most smokers are careful about making sure no kids are taking them for that reason alone. As  for recreational Cannabis -I do think it would be wonderful if there was -like alcohol, an age limit  for any drugs.. but would it change anyone? I think if a child is going to try and use drugs, the problem does not lie with the child but with the lack of education from a parent/media/life.  When I say Media - I don't mean with lies or scare tactics - This is your brain on drugs.. how about true life, education and facts. KIDS re smart!!!!!  Smart enough to make the right decisions.  Parental guidance is the most important. What are our kids watching us do- that will lecture them on leter?? LOL
As for alcohol.. especially the past couple of days - In the past I was one for 'The Hair of the dog'   usually the morning after around 11 is when I'd self medicate with a ceasar (not the dog whisperer;-) that is what it is when you have a hang over and drink- SELF MEDICATING. 
I can tell you truthfully.. I know many, many  Cannabis users  that forget to medicate- unlike pills that you take every 4 hours - with Cannabis another true blessing is you use it and it helps your pain within minutes. I've yet to meet someone who has the shakes from not having a joint! It is more a disappointment than anything else.  On the other hand I have had my share of too many people (including myself) who were hung over and MISERABLE to those around them - until they drink again. Or smokers that just get nasty because they need a smoke. Do you smoke ? Can you start your day before you have a smoke?? I know someone who just admitted to me they don't even get out of bed until the 3rd cig,  or go to sleep - SMOKIN IN BED- ;-(( - until they have had another 2.  So you think there is a problem with Cannabis being additive? Think again.  

xox <><

As I continue to research the dangers of Cannabis - very little, I constantly come across the dangers of real problem drugs and the 3 I mostly read about are:  Abuse of prescribed medications,  ALCOHOL and tobacco.  One of the biggest growing problems in the United states across campus's everywhere (Canada too I bet) is the increase of Date Rape ;-( Imagine you look into schools, save your money and send your little girl off to school and she attends a party -  where usually the booze is plentiful for the ladies and sometimes  even worse - they have something slipped into their drinks. It is a VERY common occurrence.  
I have been very honest with my son. I feel the best way to learn is to tell the truth and let others learn from our own experiences. WHY lie? That is part of the problem.  
Parents are not perfect. Everything happens for a reason. When I was younger I was very much into drinking. 
I can honestly tell you one time I was at a bar, ran into this guy that I despised.
I knew him well, we had worked together at a car company for a few years. I did not like him, how he treated women - I could barely stomach being in the same room with him. 
To make a long story short. He offered to buy me a drink - "come on ! It won't kill you to have a drink with me.."  Well I woke up the next day to the phone ringing, sicker than a dog,
I answered the phone and told the caller they had the wrong number... I opened my eyes and realized I was not in my own bed - horrified, I was in his.  To this day it makes my skin crawl! I do not know how it happened. I was no stranger to drinking or getting drunk but this was different.  Was it date rape? In my mind yes. I still can not believe it happened. YUK.   I have to say, years later - I ran into him (my son in his stroller) and he said  "remember that great night we had?"  I wanted to vomit. 
Imagine how many women this is happening to. I have yet to hear from anyone that used Cannabis, STRICTLY (not in combination with Alcohol) that this has ever happened. If anything when you use Cannabis and suddenly feel uncomfortable you can come down from your high quicker.  When you do like someone and smoke cannabis- it might loosen you up also - but this is NOT to be confused with date rape.   Ladies how many times have you had a guy say - "oh have another drink.. " because they know the more you drink you get the better their chances.. Sad really.  So by sharing if I can save just one young woman from doing the same I am glad I shared. IF I had a daughter - I know that partying is a part of the college experience. I would be encouraging her - if she felt she need to get "high", to use cannabis and Not Alcohol.  Sitting here now.. everything does happen for a reason, my experiences with alcohol have mostly been bad. My cartoons come from the heart.   
Better to learn late than never.