Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Jane Borden.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Wheeling, WVa. to a civil engineer and his stay-at-home wife. Needless to say, that portion of the world has faced decades of decay, poverty, and pollution, which left an impression on this child of the 1960s. Social justice, environmentalism, and world peace became the mantras of my generation and set the course for my life.
After earning my BA in 1975 and my MBA in 1981, I went to work as an analyst for a major pharmaceutical company that, in its time, was the largest U.S. marketer of cancer chemotherapy agents. I learned a lot about drugs and drug policy and witnessed firsthand the dire consequences of those agents. I vowed to never take any of them.
During this same time frame, I became fascinated by the AIDS crisis and, consequently the use of marijuana to threat it. This led me to the cannabis reform movement, in Ohio, in the U.S., and globally. I’ve worked full-time on this subject matter in all three spaces for the past twenty years.
I currently reside in Westerville, Ohio, with my husband of many years. Our son is an attorney with the University of Dayton.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been a difficult journey and task. When I started out, cannabis was illegal worldwide, in every jurisdiction of the United States, bar none. For a mere joint, one could get arrested, go to jail, and lose jobs, assets, college scholarships, housing, healthcare, and much, much more. The U.S. government took a “whack-a-mole” approach toward drug policy in the 1980s and 1990s by waging the infamous “War on Drugs” in almost every thinkable way. Worse still, because of cannabis’ universally illegal status, funding for research or for opposing the drug war became virtually non-existent. Honestly, it was the power of the people that began rendering change, beginning with the first ballot initiative – California Proposition 215 in 1996 – and extending to the passage of adult use measures in Colorado and Washington in 2012. The latter led to the burgeoning $20+ billion cannabis industry we know today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
For the better part of my career, I took the “road less traveled.” An internal goal to “legalize medical marijuana in the State of Ohio” drove my millennial entrance into the drug policy reform movement. In the early 1940s, zealous prohibitionists blackballed cannabis from the U.S. Pharmacopeia. They saw only one way to view drugs: illegal with harsh sanctions and painful penalties. This thinking led to over 30 laws and regulations that attempted to martial drugs out of society. Of course, understanding humanity “drug-free” would never work. Thus, reform movement cohorts and I embarked on a number of strategies – online media activism, ballot initiatives, legalization legislation – to change course.
My proudest moments have been a sit-down 60-minute style interview with Channel 4 in Columbus to launch our proposed Ohio Cannabis Rights Amendment in 2013; my designation as “Newsmaker of the Week” by Channel 10 in Columbus for that same ballot initiative in 2014; Willie Nelson’s rendition of “You’re always on my mind” for Ohio’s medical marijuana patients in 2014; my testimonies in 2016 before the Ohio House and Senate for HB 523 (Ohio’s medical marijuana law); receiving the 2019 Free Press Libby Award for Community Activism; and publication by the Columbus Free Press of 100 “Mary Jane’s Guide” articles that, over the last 20 years, have covered these cannabis-related topics.
I also helped to form the Natural Therapies Education Foundation (NTEF) in 2019. It is dedicated to advancing education, research, outreach, and philanthropy within the industries that support natural healing. The NTEF recently partnered with the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law to produce two-panel discussions concerning the future of cannabis in Ohio.
In addition to my work in activism, I am an artist. One of my college majors was Art, and I’ve practiced my craft on and off for most of my life. Mediums include iPhone photography (color and black & white), acrylic paint, pen & ink, and pencil. In 2016, I established my website called CannabinArt.com. It loosely ties cannabis to the creative process, which the plant is known to enhance. Every image displayed on this site has a personally framed counterpart in the real world. Since the launch of the site, I have created over 100 pieces and have entered several art shows. My art always inspires me. Every time I view my gallery, I experience a sense of pride that both motivates me and makes me smile on even the gloomiest days.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
It should also be noted that I’m one of 18 original Courage in Cannabis authors. Dr. Bridget Williams spearheaded this best-selling “Anthology of Inspiring Stories Written by Heroes” that compiles accounts of courage and perseverance in the cannabis space. Due the success of the first edition, another compilation focused on “The Triumphant Stories” and featuring 30+ authors, including me, is due in April 2023. Thanks to this book series, I have participated in numerous podcasts, including The Meijer Journey, Wendy Edge Love, Weed Speek, Ida Crawford, CannaCorner, and Candy Dyer Show, to name a few.
Pricing:
- Many pieces of my artwork are not for sale. For those that are, prices range from $50 for small pieces to $1000 for large complex ones.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cannabinart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannabinart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryJaneBorden
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-jane-borden/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/maryjaneborden
- Other: https://www.facebook.com/cannabinart/
Image Credits
Mary Jane Borden
