Arlene Varela

Georgia

"I went through the DARE drug program when I was a child and it did keep me away from drugs for a long time, at least longer than most my friends. When I actually tried marijuana for the first time, I still believed I was a bad person for smoking due to the DARE program. When I ventured off and did my own research, it angered me to know how the government had misrepresented the various aspects of marijuana. Studies have shown marijuana to be a lot less harmful than the government would have us to believe. Upon this realization, I became more active politically for marijuana reform and for simply being able to make my own decisions in regard to my body. I strongly advocate the necessity to take responsibility for individual action and the consequence of such actions. Let me decide, not the government.

"God made pot, man made beer. Now who do you trust?"

• Office Manager; Works in accounting and management
  

• Volunteers with a nursing home and animal shelter
  

• Interested in music, art, volunteering, and the Humane Society