Tokin Woman: 2022 Tokey Awards

TOKIN' WOMAN OF THE YEAR -
BRITTNEY GRINER

It's a bittersweet year when our top Tokin' Woman was sentenced to serve nine years in a Russian penal colony, despite international outcry about her arrest for the petty crime of having a couple of vape pens in her luggage at a Moscow airport.

Brittney Griner, 32, a seven-time WNBA All-Star center for the Phoenix Mercury, won Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women’s national basketball team in 2016 and 2021. She played for the Russian team UMMC Ekaterinburg for several years, as do many WNBA stars who are not paid anything like their male counterparts in the US.

President Biden announced on December 8 that Griner has been freed. She was exchanged for Viktor Bout, an arms dealer accused of supplying Al Qaeda, the Taliban and rebels in Rwanda. (Apparently, on the world stage, carrying a couple of vape pens is equated with arms dealing. But then, of course, the US is arguably the largest arms dealer in the world. Convicted arms smuggler Oliver North never did jail time and is a longtime Faux News host and commentator; he was briefly head of the NRA until he ousted for extortion in 2019.)

Many think Griner was taken as a political prisoner, just days before Russia invaded Ukraine in March. The announcement of her arrest came on the heels of a ruling whereby an Israeli court froze the Russian government ownership of a Jerusalem church, reportedly part of a deal struck in 2020 for the release of American-born Israeli citizen Naama Issachar, who was convicted for smuggling 10 grams of hashish through the Moscow airport. She had been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

Griner, who said she noticed an inordinate amount of customs agents at the airport the day she was arrested, never denied carrying the vape pens, only saying it was an oversight that she packed them. On the witness stand, she said that she used cannabis to deal with the pain from injuries she's suffered during her career. "The benefits from medical cannabis definitely outweigh the painkillers that they prescribe," she said. "The painkillers have really bad side effects. Medical cannabis, there are honestly no side effects that harm you."

Very Important Pothead and top all-time NBA scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in support of Griner (the day after we Tweeted him, asking him to). NBA champ Steph Curry gave a shout-out to Griner on her birthday at the Warriors Ring Ceremony in October. He and Megan Rapinoe—the soccer star with a Portland-based CBD company—spoke of Griner's plight at the ESPY Awards in July, the same month that Rapinoe was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom wearing a blazer with the initials ‘BG’ and a flower embroidered onto the lapel in tribute to Griner.

Biden called Griner "an incomparable athlete" who "endured mistreatment and a show trial in Russia with characteristic grit and incredible dignity" at the press conference. He mentioned US Marine Trevor Reed, who was brought home from Russia in April in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted in the US in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Not mentioned was Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh native who was sentenced to 14 years after airport workers found half an ounce of marijuana in his luggage when he went to Russia to teach in June. Free Marc Fogel.

Last year's Tokin' Woman of the Year was Sha'Carri Richardson, another black woman screwed by our international drug laws. Other Top Tokin' Women are Kamala Harris (2020), Jane Fonda (2019), Michelle Obama (2018), Kathy Bates (2017), Whoopi Goldberg (2016) and Melissa Etheridge (2015).

MORE 2022 TOKEY AWARDS

BEST POLITICAL MOMENT

Biden Announces He Will Pardon Marijuana Possession Offenses, Orders Review of Scheduling Status

BEST POLITICAL STATEMENT

Kamala Harris: "Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed, right?"

BEST POLITICAL JOKE

Bill Maher: "Joe Biden thinks THC is that channel that shows the old movies" and (regarding Gary Chambers), "Do we like the candidates who hold up guns in their ads, or those who hold up weed?"

WOMAN MOST WELCOME AS A SENATOR'S WIFE

Giselle Fetterman, The "Pothead" Second Lady of Pennsylvania

https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1580317480719089664?s=20&t=TiPKHIiEIXh94_N6gxLvUghttps://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1580317480719089664?s=20&t=TiPKHIiEIXh94_N6gxLvUg

BEST CONGRESSIONAL QUESTION

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez applauds the spirit of POTUS's pardon of past marijuana offenses, but delves into the difference between pardons and expungements, saying, "It can't be where we stop." She calls for Congressional action for justice for immigrants and others.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, noting that 40% of drug convictions are still for marijuana possession, delves into the problem of high fines for the poor under decriminalization, and veterans being deported for possession.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley asks a question about equity businesses who must come up with $3 million but also meet low-income requirements, all while paying excessive real estate prices, operating without federal tax credits or small business assistance, and compete against an illicit market.

BEST BOOK

Dorothy Roberts - Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World
Allison Margolin - Just Dope: A Leading Attorney's Personal Journey Inside the War on Drugs
Alex Belser, Clancy Cavnar, Beatriz Caluby Labate (eds.) - Queering Psychedelics: From Oppression to Liberation in Psychedelic Medicine
Barbara Kingsolver - Demon Copperfield

BEST MAINSTREAM MEDIA MENTION

CBS Sunday Morning - Cannabis: It's What's for Dinner

MEDIA MADNESS

Murdoch Media Blames Marijuana for Mass Shootings

OAN host calls WNBA star Brittney Griner “an America-hating lesbian pothead”

TURDIEST TALE

Amber Turd Blames Bed Poop on Her Dog Eating Johnny Depp's Pot

PETTIEST BULLSH**T

Jeopardy Fans Flame Host Mayim Bialik Over Innocent Marijuana Joke

NC woman arrested after preparing to smoke marijuana live on Facebook

Finnish Prime Minister Voluntarily Drug Tests After Party Video Released

BEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

Newsweek - Antidepressants Work Better Than Sugar Pills Only 15 Percent of the Time

WGRZ-Buffalo NY files a Freedom of Information Law request, gets AG to admit only one complaint was made about cannabis candy label

BEST COMMENTARY

Lisa Hyland - Brittney Griner is home, but my brother is still in a maximum security penal colony in Russia.

Dion Lefler - Christmastime hospital-room raid busts dying Kansas man for using marijuana extract

BEST PODCAST SWAP

Ethan Nadelmann on Dear Chelsea & Chelsea Handler on Psychoactive

BEST DOCUMENTARY SERIES

George Carlin's American Dream (HBO) -
Co-produced by Carlin's daughter Kelly, the series tells us much about the comedian, including his love for marijuana.

How to Change Your Mind (Netflix) - Author Michael Pollan presents this documentary series in four parts, each focused on a different mind-altering substance: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, and mescaline.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On - An illuminating and long overdue tribute to this amazing folk singer and songwriter, whose work was suppressed by the US government. Part of PBS's American Masters series.

Sheryl - Showtime's documentary on Sheryl Crow, who made her own way in the male-dominated music industry with powerful and honest music like "It It Makes You Happy" with its soaring refrain and lyric, “OK, I still get stoned / I’m not the kind of girl you take home.”

Louis Armstrong: Black & Blues - Covers Armstrong's lifelong love of marijuana and his arrest for it in 1931, in his own words. On Apple+.

BEST SERIES

The First Lady - Intertwining the lives of Betty Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama; marijuana is mentioned.

Irma Vep - In this stylish HBO series, a Parisian woman declares herself "Queen of the Joints" and Kristin Stewart rolls one.

BEST MOTHER & DAUGHTER MARIJUANA MOMENT ON TV

Kris & Khloe Kardashian Enjoy Weed Gummie s And Munch Out on Mexican Food

BEST FATHER & DAUGHTER MOMENT

Duffman Becomes Puffman to stump for his daughter's cannabis dispensary on The Simpsons.

BEST TV FILM

The Eyes of Tammy Faye - No cannabis in this one but Tammy Faye reported on medical marijuana in 1996.

BEST PLAY

Company - The gender-reversed Broadway revival has a marijuana-smoking scene.

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett is tremendous in Tar, which has repeated motifs from her character's connection with the Shipibo-Conibo tribe of Peru, which practices ayahuasca medicine work. Booze and pharmaceuticals seem to be her downfall.

Jean Smart takes edible gummies post cosmetic surgery and Jane Lynch comes back from her "multiple addictions," both of them brilliantly, in Hacks (HBO)

Jennifer Lawrence "gets good" in Causeway (Apple +)

Jenifer Lewis smokes a bong in a bathtub in a powerhouse performance in I Love That For You (Showtime)

BEST OSCAR MOMENT

"President Biden, bring Brittney Griner home." - Ben Proudfoot, director of The Queen of Basketball, holding up his Oscar for best short documentary film.

HARSHEST HYPOCRISY

Mrs. Hunter Biden Shops for Pot While Brittney Griner Faced 10 Years for It

Biden Administration Prefers Fatigued Drivers to Off-The-Job Marijuana Smokers

MOST TWISTED LOGIC

SCOTUS Abortion Ruling Argues That Letting Roe Stand Could Lead To Drug Legalization

MOST TWISTED "JUSTICE"

Feds properly denied Colorado woman's citizenship request over marijuana use, judge says.

Alabama Bill Would Force Women Who Want Medical Marijuana To Show Negative Pregnancy Tests

SMALLEST (BUT STILL WELCOME) SIGN OF PROGRESS

Thai cops punished for arresting woman with 1 weed plant

TRIPPIEST MUSIC VIDEO

Margo Price - "Been to the Mountain"

MOST REVEALING POLL

In a Gallup poll, while 51% of men and 55% of women think that marijuana's effect on users is very positive or somewhat positive, only 45% of men and 30% of women think the same of alcohol. As far as societal effects, 48-49% of both men and women think marijuana has positive effects, but only 40% of men and 23% of women think alcohol does.

MOST STUDIOUS STUDY

Survey Looks at Cannabis Use in Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women, Calls More Research "Critically Needed"

Women with a past history of cannabis use are at lower risk of suffering from certain types of urological cancers, according to population-based data published in the journal Cancer Medicine.

A study of a model of breast cancer in mice concluded that "combined therapy with [Protopanaxadiol] proved to be a promising strategy for CBD to be developed into a novel antitumor drug, with characteristics of effectiveness, good tolerance, and the potential to overcome tumor cachexia."

A Chinese study of 1000 women concludes: For women without vaginal inflammation, the use of hemp cotton sanitary pads during menstruation can help maintain the balance of the vaginal microecology to prevent reproductive tract infections.

In nine healthy female volunteers (mean 61 years) recruited from a choir, singing increased plasma levels of anandamide by 42% and improved positive mood and emotions without affecting hunger scores. Dancing decreased negative mood and emotions.

MOST UNDERREPORTED STORY

Drug Enforcement Administration Reaches $12 Million Settlement in Class Action Lawsuit Brought by 71 Female Agents

Mandatory Warning Signs for cannabis during pregnancy associate with an increase in adverse birth outcomes

More than 80% of US maternal deaths are preventable, CDC study shows

Pediatric melatonin ingestions result in serious outcomes, two deaths

COOLEST CANNABIS ENTREPRENEUR

Woody Harrelson Does Right By Cannabis Farmers in California

Chelsea Handler Partners with Stony Soda Company Leisuretown

Pete Kadens, a Chicago millionaire who retired at the age of 40 after starting five companies including one of the largest growers of cannabis, will help fund about 30,000 people to go to college or trade school. (As reported on 60 Minutes.)

TOP CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Lizzo Sports Hemp Eyelashes in Instagram Trend

WORST CORPORATE PLAYERS

NFL, Krispy Kreme, Banks and Big Pharma Support a Major Anti-Cannabis Lobby Group

FUNNIEST COMEDY BIT

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Coaches Can Now Share Their Wildest Religious Beliefs Thanks To The Supreme Court

Desi Lydic, The Daily Show - On being prescribed birth control pills by a horse vet in Kentucky: "I mean, they also had ketamine, so it wasn't all bad."