How to Get a Pot Card: The Music Video

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Just in time for 4/20, here’s a sassy number from the comic troubadours Garfunkel and Oates. It’s as if Snoop Dogg and Feist had a lovechild (or two):

Given my professional interest in pot cards, I decided to see what Garfunkel (a.k.a Riki Lindhomeand Oates (a.ka. Kate Micucci) had to say about the issue:

Mother Jones: How did you get the idea for this?

Garfunkel: We live in California and medical marijuana is pretty easily obtained here. There’s more pot stores than Starbucks. And yet it’s still technically illegal. So it’s kind of hypocritical.

MJ: What kind of research did you do on pot card procurement?

Garfunkel: We just Googled it and found the official list [of ailments treatable by pot]. It’s really, really long.

MJ: According a leading chain of California pot docs, there are 198 different maladies that qualify.

Garfunkel: It’s pretty much any part of your body followed by the word “pain.” Elbow pain, spleen pain, face pain, whatever.

MJ: It’s striking how many seemingly contradictory illnesses qualify, such as anorexia and bulimia.

Garfunkel: My neighbor said you can quit smoking by it.

MJ: Are you a California pot card holder?

Oates: I am.

MJ: If it’s not too personal, what’s your medical need for marijuana?

Oates: Anxiety and insomnia.

MJ: Mine is writer’s cramp.

Oates: Big problem!

MJ: How long have you had your pot card?

Oates: I’ve had it since last Wednesday (laughs). I actually felt the need for it, which is why I got it. I didn’t feel like I needed it before then. I wasn’t a frequent smoker. But given recent events it felt necessary. Medically. Honestly. So.

MJ: I hear that releasing a potentially viral video about pot cards can be stressful.

Oates: Exactly! 

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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