Every Mothers Day, millions of American women receive cards from their children. In 2005, more than 150 million Mothers Day cards were sent to the 82.5 million American women who were mothers, and today there are 300,000 more mothers than there were then. (Those numbers come from U.S. Census reports that can be found here and here.)

Some Mothers Day cards are funny, some are bland, and some are handmade and sincere. And then some, this year at least, address marijuana legalization.

The source of these particular cards is a group called Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, or SAFER, a national non-profit that tries to educate people about the relative harms of marijuana and alcohol. More specifically, they argue that our laws should reflect the fact that while alcohol kills 20,000 people a year, no studies have found a link between marijuana overdose and death (at least according to this post on the blog Momlogic). SAFER’s idea was that Mothers Day could also become “Tell your Mothers Day.” 

A new and powerful strain of marijuana advocate is hitting the streets: Moms. A broad range of women's groups — including Moms for Marijuana and the Women's Marijuana Movement — are campaigning for cannabis to be legalized as a safer alternative to alcohol and tobacco:

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.

Mothers for marijuana? There's a movement gaining momentum that asks people to reconsider drug policies that punish pot users.

A Scottsdale mother is among those attending the Women's Marijuana Movement press conference at the Colorado State Capitol.

Supporters say marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol, which can lead to crimes like domestic violence and sexual assault. They argue that prohibiting marijuana actually makes us less safe.

Mothers for marijuana? There's a movement gaining momentum that asks people to reconsider drug policies that punish pot users.

A Scottsdale mother is among those attending the Women's Marijuana Movement press conference at the Colorado State Capitol.

Supporters say marijuana is a safer alternative to alcohol, which can lead to crimes like domestic violence and sexual assault. They argue that prohibiting marijuana actually makes us less safe.