The Adventures of MOTA, the Oregon NORML Roach

Created by Smoke Dogg / Text by "Radical" Russ

[UPDATE] Smoke Dogg and I created what we thought was a harmless and cute cartoon that uses humor to educate and inform patients about the new 24/24 limits of the OMMA that went into effect 1/1/2006. Imagine my surprise when I get these comments in my inbox:

I am appalled that you claim to represent Oregon and Oregon Medical Marijuana patients, and yet you have this heinous cartoon on your Oregon site.

Well, I guess "heinous" is in the eye of the beholder. We all thought it was cute. I thought maybe someone would have a problem with panel #6, but if you're offended by the pretend copulation pose of joints, then maybe marijuana is too mind-altering for you to handle.

Are you truly working to "Norml-ize" cannabis, or are you promoting stoners and proving to the anti-medical cannabis community that "we" are nothing more than pot-heads? 

I'm not sure I understand how a satirical cartoon has that much power. You'd think people would've stopped adopting cats after reading Garfield all these years.

For your information, the roaches in question were grown, rolled, and smoked by a licensed medical marijuana patient. Furthermore, your use of "pot-heads" as a perjorative only strengthens the use of that word by our opponents. Is it your claim that non-medical users are "pot-heads"? Oregon NORML is not just about protecting medical marijuana patients, but eliminating prohibition of marijuana for all adults... even the so-called "pot-heads".

I am a medical cannabis patient.  I am not a pot-head.  Please removed this disgraceful cartoon from your site.

I've taken it off the front page, so now nobody will think you are one of those icky "pot-heads". But MOTA will remain in the Articles section, clearly marked as satirical humor, for those who can handle a laugh now and then.

Another e-mailer writes:

What could make the MMJ community and our cause look more ridiculous?

Oh, I don't know. How about being so humorless that believing a simple cartoon threatens to derail an entire movement?

Although this may have been created with fun, giggles, good humor, it appears to the mainstream community that all the myths are TRUE!

What myth would that be? That marijuana users smoke joints? That marijuana users are clever with Photoshop? That marijuana users don't take themselves so seriously that they can't have a laugh now and then?

I also read racial overtones in the cartoon that could me mistaken by some as racist!

I just figured that marijuana is a Spanish word the drug warriors used instead of cannabis hemp, so as to scare 20th century America with anti-Mexican racism in order to criminalize a popular plant. In tribute, the Oregon NORML Roach should have Mexican-American ancestry. But I see how some people might perceive that as racist. I will be sure to inform the Mexican-American who created it and his Mexican-American wife who laughed her ass off at it.

Oh, well. You can't please everyone. MOTA is off of the front page, but he'll be crawling around these back pages from now on. If you think he's funny, enjoy. If not, click here.

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Don't forget... MOTA says that all good roaches obey the new medical marijuana law and work to peacefully change unjust personal adult marijuana laws. Free the MOTA!