Reefer Magnets are an interesting and fun way to start a conversation! Perfect as gifts!
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Our story
In 1997 Allison Bigelow started Reefer Magnets as a fun way to educate people about the benefits of hemp and cannabis and to help normalize marijuana. She sold the magnets at her hemp store, Washington Hemp Mercantile, in Mount Vernon, Washington and also at events she travelled to around the U.S. Throughout the years Allison has added new magnets to the collection. Allison’s two daughters were young when she first began her activism, attending many events along with their mother and spending time at her hemp store. It’s thrilling to announce new art, created by Allison’s oldest daughter Alesandra Caroline, to add to her mother’s collection!
Art by Alesandra Caroline Collection
About the owner
Allison Bigelow is a Grandmother, Mother, and an Activist with a knack for networking people. Allison has been a cannabis consumer since she was sixteen, never able to enjoy drinking alcohol, and not impressed with other mind altering alternatives, she has always enjoyed cannabis. In 1994, she read an article about Industrial Hemp, and being an activist for the environment, she was impressed. She realized that the three “R’s” are similar to putting a bandaid on the earth, when hemp is the solution. In November of 1995 she opened Washington Hemp Mercantile, in Mount Vernon, WA with the help of her husband, her two young daughters, and her sister Eve Lentz. They began selling industrial hemp products like twine, clothing, shoes, fabric, paper, lotions, lip balm, and even seed treats. An important part of Allison’s store was the Activist center where free printouts covered a table. She also aired a commercial that educated about Hemp on the local radio station whose broadcast reached several counties. For several years Allison took a booth of her hemp wares, education, and legalization petitions to many events, including every August at Seattle Hempfest, as well as Hemp Education Day, an event that would be held yearly at her state’s capitol in Olympia. She was a speaker at both of these events.
Allison and her sister Eve became friends with Jack Herer, the author of “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” and sold his book at Washington Hemp Mercantile. Allison likes to say “If you have not read The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer, then you do not know the true history of the world.” Allison and Eve have also met many other amazing people along the way. They wouldn’t trade their years of activism advocating for their favorite plant cannabis/hemp/marijuana/ganja/herb/weed.
At the same time Allison became involved with Media Awareness Project. MAP offers facts, links and great letter-writing techniques to getting your voice heard. Allison was a volunteer newshawk for them, posting articles written about drug policy online, along with the link to send Letters to the Editor (lte’s). That is where Allison met the amazing author Peter McWilliams that has written many self help books over the years. Peter was reaching out to people online to educate them and talk about how prohibition of cannabis and other drugs caused more harm then good. Peter McWilliams had been arrested in connection with a medical marijuana bust in California. Peter was HIV positive and used cannabis successfully to keep his nausea and other conditions under control. Because his Mother owned the house that was put up to secure bond and keep Peter out of prison, Peter refrained from using cannabis under an order from the court. Peter, sadly, died, of pulmonary aspiration, caused by prohibition of using his medicine. Months before Peter died, he asked everyone on his listserve to send him two photos of themselves, and he would reciprocate. The photo of Peter lovingly hugging a cannabis bud was one of those historic photos!
In 1997 Allison created her first set of Reefer Magnets, playing on the name of the movie Reefer Madness. Allison’s mission was to educate people about hemp and cannabis and these magnets were a fun way to accomplish that, plus help supplement her as she traveled around the country to events.
In 2002 Allison became a member of Compassion In Action (CIA) joining them with their mission of providing good medicine to over 3,300 patients, while lowering the cost by having the members produce the medicine in collective owned grow facilities rather than being a buyers club. CIA also provided a source of information to help patients feel comfortable to speak with their primary care physician about how cannabis can or does help them in order to have their Dr. stand behind their decision to use this medicine. CIA discovered methods of ingestion and provided that to their patients. Many patients would rally together for political advocacy at the legislature, or to fill the courtroom when another patient was in the cross hairs of the law being prosecuted for cannabis offenses. This 2010 article describes the services the collective was providing prior to legalization of cannabis. Our Collective’s lawyer Douglas Hiatt represented many patients caught in the crosshairs of prohibition pro bono, we will always be grateful for his support!
In 2020, Allison and her friend Kari Boiter reignited WONPR by creating a National 501c3 nonprofit after the elders who had rebirthed it in 2003 had passed. You can read Allison’s Rambling's here https://womenendingprohibition.org/allisons-ramblings/ . While there, consider joining us!
“We have the choice, right now, to create a world where there is abundance of good organic food, clean water and air, shelter for all, work for all, love for all, compassion, and understanding.
The only way to have the future you want in your lifetime is to live it in your lifetime. We can begin on it today.”
- Allison Bigelow owner Reefer Magnets