DENVER -- Moms got tougher drunk-driving laws on the books and were directly responsible for passing and then repealing alcohol Prohibition. Now marijuana activists are trying to enlist the nation's mothers in legalization efforts with a sales pitch that pot is safer than booze.

The nation's largest marijuana legalization lobby recently started a women's group. The Moms4Marijuana website draws thousands. And just in time for Mother's Day, a pot legalization group in Denver has created a pink-carnation web card asking moms to support legalization.

These marijuana moms argue that pot is no worse than alcohol, that teens shouldn't face jail time for experimenting with it and that marijuana can even help new mothers treat postpartum depression.

"I know so many mothers who support this but aren't willing to come out and say it," said Sabrina Fendrick, head of the Women's Alliance at the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

Marijuana activists say they need more moms to publicly back pot use if they are to succeed with public officials.

"The mother is the first teacher, who you turn to for direction in life," said Serra Frank, a 27-year-old mother of two in Boise, Idaho, who founded Moms4Marijuana in 2005. It has no formal membership, but Frank says its website has had more than 12,000 visitors.

Pot activists say both genders sometimes find it easier to attend protests or lobby lawmakers about pot than to tell their mothers they smoke weed. So legalization groups hope that if moms, arguably the nation's most powerful lobby, get on board with making pot legal, laws will change in a hurry.

"All the things moms get behind, people listen," said Diane Irwin, 48, a medical marijuana grower in southern Colorado who also is a mother of two.

There's still a marijuana gender gap. According to an Associated Press-CNBC poll released last month, women opposed legalization in greater numbers than men. Just under half -- 48 percent -- of male poll respondents opposed legalization to 63 percent of women.

"We have enough problems with alcohol. I feel if we legalized it, it would make people say it's OK," said 37-year-old mother Amanda Leonard of St. Augustine. Fla., one of the poll respondents

Trying to soften moms up a bit, Denver-based Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, is asking members to "come out" about their pot use this Mother's Day and argue that pot is safer than booze. The group says it has about 20,000 members nationwide.

SAFER's online Mother's Day card has a typical start -- "Thank you for raising me to be thoughtful and compassionate" -- then transitions to: "I want to share some news that might surprise you, but should not upset you: I believe marijuana should be legal."

For $10, card senders can add a book for their moms titled "Marijuana is Safer." The book, published last year, argues that marijuana is healthier than booze. SAFER says several thousand copies have been sold, and group members handed out free copies as Mother's Day gifts to Colorado's 37 female lawmakers last week.

There's no good national count of how many mothers use pot, but anecdotal evidence suggests plenty do. Moms from Florida to Washington are facing criminal charges for using marijuana or supplying it to their children.

In February, 51-year-old Alaska mom Jane C. Cain was arrested along with her 29-year-old son for allegedly growing pot in the house. The Wasilla woman says she initially feared reprisals from neighbors and didn't answer the door.

"But it turned out people were just coming by to bring homemade food, casseroles and cakes and such," Cain said with a laugh. Her case is still pending, but Cain says that even conservative neighbors say she's not wrong to use marijuana for her frequent migraines, though medical marijuana isn't legal in Alaska.

"Now I go wherever I want and hold my head up high," Cain said. "Five or 10 years from now, people who oppose marijuana will be considered old-fashioned. It's a benign substance, so why shouldn't we have it?"

Irwin, the Colorado medical pot grower, said mothers who use marijuana face a stigma men don't. Irwin says she secretly used marijuana while pregnant to fight morning sickness and after giving birth to battle postpartum depression. Since she started growing pot, Irwin said she's run into many moms who admit to using the drug. She argues that even children could benefit from marijuana use, though Irwin never gave either of her kids pot nor smoked it in front of them.

In fact, she remembers flushing her son's pot down the toilet when he was a teen. But last year, after her now-grown son started a Denver marijuana dispensary, Irwin sold her hair salon, bought a greenhouse and started raising pot for him.

"I look at the kids now who are so medicated, on Ritalin and all the rest, and I'm wondering why we don't explore what's natural, and that's marijuana," said Irwin, who is moving to Denver to work full-time at her older son's dispensary.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/05/09/pot-activists-enlisting-mothers-legalization-sales-pitch/?test=latestnews

These are just addicts who are trying to legalize the way to get their fix.

The fact is that Pot is not safe at all and actually causes depression, not treat it. I know first hand about this. My best friend of 20 years committed suicide back in 2003. After an investigation it was determined that he would not have taken his life if he was not high on the drug. He has no history of depression and was not under any stress. I tried to get him help several times for this powerful addiction that cost him his life, and for this reason until the day I die I will fight to keep this illegal the way it should be.

Also there is just as much proof that it is as dangerous to drive high on Pot as it is to drive drunk. I guarantee powerfull groups like MADD will fight this as well.

For people who are addicted to this, I pray you get help and treatment for your addiction before it ruins or costs you your life like it has so many others.

Yo Mama!!

A good Mama wouldn't want their kids killin' they brain cells wit anything.

Smokin' weed and drinkin' can cause poor kids to write like this.

I wz @ th mll lokn 2 4k ovr my ho n 4k hr bff.

LMFAO.

The more the merrier..........

Do you have anymore research to backup your claim aside from "a friend?"

I'd rather be in a room full of stoners than a bunch of rowdy azz drunks...

Why not, I say let farmeers grow it, tax it and sell it. Put the governement agencies handling more endangering and ahrmful things. Also, put laws in place and make it a civil problem over a legal one. Plus we would not have to pay to house for it in jail as much.

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
http://current.com/1em8e4c
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217152331.htm
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/ --Fantastic research source.

Now, for the truth. Marijuana has never been related to a death, not once, nope, not even your friend. Marijuana has been proven time and time again by studies both domestic and foreign to not have any lasting medical issues, nope, not even your friend. Marijuana has been proven, again, by both domestic and foreign studies to have a very favorable medicinal value (pain, eating disorders, hell, even rope). Marijuana will addict less than 1% of its users, well, maybe this was your friend?

Actually in a college study, I did a college papers on the benefits of marijuana and the affects on Alzhiemhers. The brain cells that marijuana kills are weak or dying brain cells. The study found that those that had used marijuana at least some in there lives, showed lower risks towards deveolping Alzheiemhers as they got older.
The affects with those on chemotherapy have shown to allow them an appetite and keep there foods down better. My sisters mother survived brest cancer and we got it for her and it allowed her to remain physically healthier during her trials with chemotherapy.
Marijuana shown to reduce tension stress and anxiety. It is a natural substance and the true reason that it is not legal already is the drug companies would have a natural substance with minmal side affects to compete with.

Well done, sir!

The driving thing...

Personally, I don't think anyone should ever drive while in "enhanced" mode, on anything.
However, I'd much rather see a bunch of stoned drivers doing 20, thinking they're doing 80, then a bunch of drunk drivers doing 80, thinking they're doing just fine.

That is probably true, for today anyway. However, almost all of the drug laws have a nasty racial background to them if you are willing to dig it up and read into it.

I agree and laws should be implemented accordingly. No one should drive putting on makeup, or do anything that impairs or prhibits driving and paying attention, computers how many cops do you see driving and checking pcs over the radio now? :ow about business men attorneys and doctors ua sing devices and palms while driving? There are just so many things to develop laws on these days aren't there what is a few more towards earning state and federal income for these plans they want to take care of?

Who needs more research when you have first hand experience. I know what the medical examiner told me, and that's all I need.

He is more reliable then a bunch of junkies trying to defend their addiction.

I guess you know more then a doctor. Everyone of those links is biased. The money the junkies and the drug growers put into the media to make everything seem all right is sick.

Another thing, don't you EVER say what did or didn't happpen to my friend. You have no ****ing clue. You are talking out of your *** and you are lucky your not having the copnversation with me face to face is all I am going to say on this matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c55A1EGdDcQ

Awesome debate skills you have there. If there was a death related to marijuana according to a medical examiner, it would be noted, because the government is very much against the legalization of marijuana...probably because then everyone would know they are lying.

The government is biased, which is why I didn't link any of them, all of their "research" isn't even researched, most of their "facts" have absolutely no researching backing them. I do have a clue, I know the facts, and I've done the research...extensively as a matter of fact. And if you did get your information from doctors, then yes, I do know quite a bit more than them.

Some facts for you to ponder; the United States has never done a medical study on marijuana, never. All of the studies done on marijuana that have been done in the United States have been done by third parties, not the government, and most of the if not all of them had no government funding to their project. There have been studies done on marijuana in the UK, Canada, and parts of Europe...personally, I would rather follow studies actually done on marijuana than studies done in a hypothetical sense.

Stop throwing out threats like a child and debate like an adult, I've brought numerous sources to the table and so far I've recieved a threat from you. So do me a favor, look into it yourself, outside of the news media, and present facts in an intelligent manner instead of becoming offensive because of the facts I presented.

"It is a natural substance and the true reason that it is not legal already is the drug companies would have a natural substance with minmal side affects to compete with."


Exactly!!!

First of all I never made a threat, I don't make threats. I make promises. Second of all I don't care about your sources, they are all biased because some sort of drug money and influence is behind them.

Until you have been in a situation you have no ****ing idea.

Oh, by the way you might want to look at this.......
http://www.drugwatch.org/CEDARS/MarDeaths2002e.pdf

Pot ONLY related deaths including suicides.

My condolences on your loss.
However, if pot really was the cause of your friend's death, it would the first time in recorded medical history of such a death. Do some research. In the event that pot really was the cause, 1 death, compared to the overall and wide spread worldwide use would still seem to indicate that it is relatively harmless.
Also, your anger towards someone who simply disagrees with your opinion in this matter would seem to indicate you have a great deal of guilt concerning the death of your friend. Perhaps you should work that out before it does actually lead to violence.