I'm writing this as my father fights for his freedom. In 2010, my father took a plea deal to a federal charge for conspiracy to distribute marijuana; he was sentenced to 17 years. Today, he sits in a federal prison in California, the same state where marijuana has brought in $2.75 billion in legal sales. In January 2018, California made recreational marijuana legal. This new development brought good news for our family and a new opportunity to challenge my father's sente

Jen Fitzgerald is a poet, essayist, photographer, and a native New Yorker who received her MFA in Poetry at Lesley University and her BA in Writing at The College of Staten Island (CUNY). She is a community activist, organizer, and freelance writer/editor/content creator. For 2018, Jen is the Managing Editor for the small, Los Angeles based press, Agape Editions. a member of New York Writers Workshop, She teaches creative writing workshops online and around New York City. Her