I have said many times that the marijuana community can do big things outside of the marijuana world. The marijuana community over the years has built a machine that can spread awareness like no other, pool together resources like no other, and mobilize volunteers like no other. These things have benefited cannabis reform greatly, and they can be used to benefit other worthy causes. Any non-profit organization should be grateful to get the level of assistance that the marijuana community can provide.
However, there are still a lot of organizations out there that refuse to work with the marijuana community. To be fair, there are also a lot that absolutely love working with the marijuana community. For instance The Clinic in Colorado does an annual golf tournament that benefits Colorado and Wyoming chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. According to a recent article put out by the Associated Press, the annual golf tournament has raised almost $300,000 since 2009. But other non-profit organizations in Colorado aren’t as favorable. Per the same Associated Press article:
Still, some nonprofits are wary of marijuana donations. The Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation has a policy of not accepting such donations, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Whitehead, because the drug is still illegal federally.
Connie Zimmerman, founder of Colorado Homeless Families, which helps with transitional housing, has not been offered help from marijuana businesses but said she wouldn’t accept it because she considers the drug detrimental to her clients.
“We don’t feel right about accepting donations from the profits and proceeds of the marijuana business that can devalue or diminish the quality of the family and lifestyle relationships of individuals,” Zimmerman said.
I would love, LOVE, to hear Ms. Zimmerman elaborate on how cannabis alone diminishes ‘the quality of the family and lifestyle relationships of individuals.’ The level of reefer madness that is involved with that claim is so thick that it makes my heart hurt. Organizations like these would rather let unfounded fears of cannabis get in the way of helping the people that look to their organizations for assistance. Imagine how many more sick kids could be helped by the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, or how many more homeless families could be helped by Colorado Homeless Families if they would just simply accept assistance from the cannabis community?
