Separating black women from her kids in New York City

The following is from teh New York Daily News editorial column. It appeared on 23 June, 2018. It is about how the liberal city of New York is separating people from their children, and also offers an insight into cannabis use in a positive way. This is not to say I support people dropping out and smoking dope. But cannabis is a useful medical substance with no lethal or long lasting side effects, and sometimes it is used by honest working people who want to avoid dependency on a single drug that has been prescribed to them. I support the legalisation of cannabis for medical uses and recreational use for people over 21. For more info on that issue, check out www.hempforvictory.blogspot.com

________________________________________________________________________________


Shakira Kennedy, NYC

At a press conference this week, Mayor de Blasio said, “We will do everything we can to stop the federal government from separating parents from their children.”

But the city itself is needlessly splitting up New York families through the Administration for Children’s Services. I know because my own family is at risk.

Ironically, the mayor made his statement at a press conference in which he announced a new policy to reduce marijuana arrests. I myself have had my life upended by senseless marijuana enforcement. And the mayor’s new policy will do nothing to help people like me — because it is ACS, not the NYPD, that is targeting me.

I am a 28-year-old loving mother and a taxpaying citizen. I have a beautiful 7-year-old daughter in a gifted and talented program and two beautiful twin baby boys. I would do anything for my children.

What Is This?

Unfortunately, during my pregnancy with the twins, I suffered from extreme morning sickness and could not keep food or water down. I sought the best medical care, and my doctors told me I needed to gain weight for the health of my babies.

But the medicine they prescribed didn’t work. Nothing did, until I tried cannabis.

Making sure to tell my doctor everything, I disclosed that I smoked cannabis and it helped me eat normally. That’s when I became a victim of circumstance. When my children were born, they tested negative for marijuana. But still the hospital called ACS.

I made clear to ACS that I had to use marijuana under unique circumstances — but that I would not continue to use it. I asked to schedule a drug test to prove that it would no longer be in my system.

They made me go to court or face the loss all three of my children. Then, instead of ongoing drug-testing, I was compelled to go to an outpatient rehab program three days a week for an addiction I don’t have.

Now, I have complete strangers from ACS coming into my home and telling me what to do as a parent.

Unless I am able to win my case in Family Court and get my record sealed at a later hearing, I will be blacklisted for alleged child neglect — and unable to get any job near children until my twins turn 28.

Even as the state appears to be moving toward full marijuana legalization, most of the other parents in my rehab program are women and men of color who were sent there by ACS due to marijuana use.

People call mass incarceration the New Jim Crow. As a black woman, I am living the New Jane Crow.

Before ACS got involved, the father of all three of my children and I were doing well and planning to get married. Then, ACS scared him away, accusing him of neglecting our children by smoking marijuana while our daughter was home.

Now he is out of contact. He was my support and they ruined that.

Whatever you believe about cannabis consumption while pregnant, you should know that middle-class white mothers join in Facebook groups crowing about the benefits of marijuana, and they never seem to be investigated by ACS.

I am the face of another reality. While we fight to legalize this drug, we have lots of urgent work to do to unravel the many pernicious consequences of prohibition at the local level. That includes punishing parents simply for marijuana use.

Kennedy lives in Brooklyn.

Visit from cops about this blog

A few days ago I got a friendly visit from some off duty cops. Not sure what their issue really was, whether they were on side or against Trump/me,  but it was strange that one key issue in their little chat was the fact that this blog is making people wake up and think hard about why they are paying Melissa Mark-Viverito's salary when she has upped it so much for one thing and for another thing, a bigger issue than taking our $ to her bank, is that she is asking POTUS to release terrorists who killed Americans on the 4th of July.
And it was as if someone was sending me a warning to knock it off. This lady is head of the NYC City Council which, while voting itself a hefty pay raise when people are out of work, turns down police pay raises. So go figure and ask yourself why any NYC cop, if that is really who they were, I did not ask any badges, tried to chat me up about her, as if she needed protection from Americans who don't wanna be killed on the 4th of July.
And most don't. And I could guess a few might want to put their fist in the face of any fool who does. Just a guess. Don't go arrest me or anything for guessing. The Constitution gives us this right.
And it does NOT give rights to people like Melissa Mark-Viverito to 'FREE THE TERRORISTS.'
Just these past couple of days some free terrorists killed 31 people in a country that seems to coddle terrorists, in fact, one of the Paris terrorists was found there - I am talking about Belgium. Not sure I can find it on a map. But I would also guess that a few Belgians might also like to put their fist in the face of anyone trying to free the terrorists.
Donald Trump made some remarks about their need for greater security, and he was attacked. Clinton, good friend of terrorist supporter Melissa Mark-Viverito, attacked him on the eve of the attacks. Many lovey dovey left wingers then joined in the attack; but even the left wing Guardian in London had to concede some points; speaking more realistically, it printed the following observation:




The fragmented nature of Belgium’s police and security services means they do things differently there, and Trump’s claim that the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek had “coddled” and taken care of the Paris attacks terror suspect Salah Abdeslam before his arrest has some resonance. Others might argue that the lack of long-term community police work left a dangerous intelligence vacuum


Dangerous intelligence vacuum. Just what we might expect if we get some wack job in who has friends who want to free terrorists. And we can expect more of a 'fragmented nature' of the NYC police force if wack job's friend is able to free terrorists. We don't need coddled terrorists here.


So to the friendly cops who just 'wanted to talk with me' about my comments about a leading figure of the NY political scene, talk to your colleagues first. They may just want you to spend your time more wisely. I am NOT inciting violence here against wack jobs, I am merely pointing out that we ought to vote them out of office.


And then maybe there will be a real pay raise for the NYPD, not a fragmented intelligence vacuum that sends its officers out to check up on bloggers.