The USA has the largest population of prison inmates and the highest global rate of incarceration. Women are the lead demographic in the prison population in the nation. There were 219,000 women in U.S. prisons as of October 2017, and most of them were mothers. Not all of these mothers are serving time for cannabis, but much of the prison system is filled with moms who were caught buying or selling small amounts of marijuana. There are many ways we can help them though!

1. Help the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act

It's sponsored by Senators Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Dick Durbin. The Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act's goal is to help the lives of incarcerated women, whose gender-specific needs—like free and easy access to menstrual hygiene products—are often overlooked or intentionally ignored.

2. Help Kids of Prison Moms

Another way to help is by helping to support these mother's kids. Parents for Pot is an organization that supports families who have been affected by anti-cannabis laws.

3. Put Funds in a Commissary Account

Depositing funds directly into a commissary account is the most helpful thing you can do. Incarcerated women usually have to pay for everything that isn’t considered necessary—from phone calls to tampons. Although federal prisons recently made menstrual products free to women prisoners, most state prisons haven't.

Of course, there are many other ways you can help them, their dozens of organizations and groups dedicated to helping mothers who have been affected by the anti-cannabis legislation.