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Alexandra Jamieson is an artivist (artist + activist), creator of Fascism Tarot, Abortion Trading Cards, The Grift Deck and five books, she was the co-creator and co-star of the Oscar nominated documentary Super Size Me.

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Follow her: Instagram | website 

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This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity by Solonje Burnett, Weed Auntie. Watch the teaser.

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WA = Weed Auntie

AJ = Alex Jamieson

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WA: Can you tell us your name, preferred pronouns, and what you do for work/passion.

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AJ: I'm Alex Jamison. I am she/her, and I am an artist of all stripes. Can't stop me from making things.

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WA: Where did you grow up and how did your upbringing inform your thoughts around plant medicine and cannabis usage?

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AJ: I grew up outside of Portland, Oregon on an old organic farm. My mom had an organic gardening radio show so I grew up knowing how to grow things in the ground. My mom was a hippie slash artist slash activist so I got all of that from her. We just always grew plants and used plants to help us with colds, coughs, compresses, all kinds of things. My whole life, I've always known that plants are medicine. So I never had any other belief than that cannabis was a plant that could be used for a variety of healing purposes.

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WA: Has anyone ever judged you or labeled you for consuming weed whether in your family or professionally?

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AJ: I've never received any judgment one way or the other for cannabis or weed. I'm very lucky, I mean, I grew up hippie central. So no, no judgment.

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WA: You built a big portion of your life around being vegan. Writing multiple books on the subject and co-creating the film Super Size Me. Can you share a bit about the shift from veganism? How did it affect your identity?

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AJ: You know, I actually became vegan because of health issues, and then I had to start eating animal products again because of health issues. The food and the plants that worked for me when I was 25 no longer worked for me when I was 35. 

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Along with that physical evolution, sadly, a lot of judgment came from the vegan community when I started eating meat again. I was ostracized. I was, I'll say, canceled. I was the subject of a lot of podcasts and articles saying what a terrible person I was. I got death threat emails when I started eating meat again because I was seen as a traitor, a murderer, et cetera. It was a really intense experience.

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WA: How did you handle your removal from that community?

AJ: I had two good things going for me when I kind of came out as no longer vegan. One is that my family never judged me when I became vegan. They were just curious and supportive and when I started eating meat again they were curious and supportive. So incredible family AND I always had non-vegan friends. I had friends who were like, great, we don't care. And, you know, it's part, when anyone leaves a high demand group, I will say an intense religion or a cult or other high demand groups, it's really important to have people outside of that community who will support you.

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WA: What's your favorite thing to cook or consume right now? 

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AJ: I mean, I love carbs. I love carbs so much. I was a vegan chef for several years and the first professional job that I got out of culinary school was as a vegan pastry chef so I've always loved baked goods. I love making pastries and cakes and it's just my favorite. I've never stopped loving making a good cupcake, a good brownie. I love dessert so much!

WA: I love that you are pastry or were a pastry chef specifically. Have you ever made infused treats?

AJ: Yes, I used to make myself batches of vegan cannabis butter. With Earth Balance, I think that's what that stuff is called. So it was basically margarine or butter with a bunch of chopped up cannabis, slowly heated on the stove. And I just kept it in the freezer. And when I needed to chill out, I would just make myself some toast, spread on some vegan cannabis butter, jam. Delightful.

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WA:  You’ve had a colorful career from holistic health counselor, gourmet natural foods and pastry chef, multibook author, watercolor and multimedia artist to activist – your evolution to me mirrors that of womanhood. How are you working with life's transitions?

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AJ: Yeah, you could definitely see the undiagnosed Gen X ADHD creative just raw-dogging it through life! With that creative, supportive family came the confidence to try new things. But it has been very difficult to be a perimenopausal woman in this current reality. I’m very stressed out. My nervous system is shot. Dealing with serious hormonal issues, chronic migraines, a decade of insomnia. I do not use the word blessed lightly. But to have friends in cannabis has been a freaking goddess send at this time because I'm needing all the medicine to get through this. 

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WA: How did your relationship with your family and cannabis evolve?

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AJ: My hippy mom was such a lightweight her entire life. Any substance had to be minuscule. She told this story about being an art student in fascist Spain in the 60s. And she accidentally ate a bunch of hash brownies because she didn't know they were filled with hash. She woke up two days later and so her only warning to me was be careful because you don't want to consume too much. And then when she was battling cancer in the last year of her life, I just brought her every tool I could find. My friend who made sauerkraut brought her sauerkraut. My friend who had organic weed brought that. So her fridge was filled with any kind of natural healing we could think of, including all her medicines.

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WA: How was your relationship to cannabis and/or plant medicine shifted or evolved? What are your go to’s for relief and relaxation now?

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AJ: I first started enjoying cannabis at the end of high school, and in college it was just pure party funsies with friends. And then I think I didn't have any for like a decade in the middle there. But these days I prefer gummies or tinctures because I can really control the dosage. I've become very sensitive in my later years. So I need just the right amount of the exact right formulation. So it's just, it's very, very demure. 

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I mainly enjoy a very, very low THC, high CBD gummy before bed. And loving a bath bomb with THC in it before bed to calm my body and anxiety before sleep which is so horrific that I have anxiety about going to sleep in case I have a bad night.

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WA: I remember awhile back I intro’d you to the folks at Atmos to talk about the intersections of Cannabis and teenagers’ usage. How did you manage that relationship with your son? Any advice for other parents?

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AJ: Yeah, I smelled my son consuming cannabis in his room at a very young age, you know, 14, 15 and discovered gummies in his room. I felt a lot of contradiction within myself, but he was very, very young. And the gummies I found were an insanely high dose.  I was like, dude, this would put me in a coma. I've tried to be just very honest about the ‘here's the reality of these substances. And here's the reality of our family, our mental health history. And I want you to have all the knowledge, all the information. This is not a bad thing and you are not a bad person. And you need to be aware of how these substances affect different people. So let's do these things responsibly and let's keep communication open about it.’

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Like not reverting to punishment, but instead like conversation. Though I’m sure the conversations with him felt like a punishment! However, he's doing great. He's a young adult now.  And we do continue to have these conversations.

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WA: Tell us a bit about what inspires your work today both online and in the physical form? Do you ever use plants to elevate your practice?

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AJ: So much of the work I do now is anti-fascist activist art. It is pro-abortion. It is Antifa. Let's be real. Call me out.

Here I am! Where's the meeting? I'll bring vegan cookies!

I paint very angry headlines that I post on IG and Bluesky and apparently they make other people angry too. I encourage people to stand up and speak their voice and get in the street and also be activists. Like, that's most of why I do the art that I do online. I'm trying to encourage people to also stand up and not be afraid or be afraid and do it anyway.

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And physically, I make a lot of art card decks. I made the Abortion Trading Cards, which actually includes a lot of plants and abortifacient herbs, some of which I grow on my roof. It’s a way to talk about the history of abortion, the facts of abortion.

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My Fascism Tarot is about the warning signs of fascism, and the Grift Deck is about cult tactics and con artists in American society. I love making these series of cards using paint and found materials and collage. These decks give me a chance to kind of bring out a little bit of my gallows humor into my art.

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I don't use any cannabis or plants when I'm making art. It's more of a soothing thing for me. It's not a creative thing for me. I know it is for a lot of people, but it's not that way for me. Seriously, I’ve tried it, but I'll just start 10 things and not finish anything.

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WA: Speaking of popping edibles and getting NASA, who would be in your dream sweet sesh? Queer icons, people who are living, deceased, whoever.

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AJ: Yes! I'm glad you didn't say one person because it can't just be one. So, it's a whole tea party. Jinx Monsoon, Bob the Drag Queen, Monet X Change, and Dolly Parton. Wouldn't that just be the best? That'd be so fun.

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WA: That's such a key, oh my god, of course Dolly's in there. I mean. You gotta bring Dolly in.

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AJ: Yes. Dolly is an inspiration for us all. All. Everybody. Everybody.

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WA:  Yes. That was a list, I love it. You came prepared.

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AJ: That was the one question that I could remember. Yeah. And I was like, oh, I know exactly.

I know the answer to this. So good.

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WA:  What’s your favorite thing to do high?

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AJ: I love to clean! I love to clean my house. I'm so good at it. I'm so good at cleaning when I'm high.

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WA: Going back to your activism, gathering community and inspiring them, are there any groups or individuals who you think are doing the work that we should follow?

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AJ:  I'm gonna have to shout out Brigid Alliance, which is the organization that sales of the Abortion Trading Cards helps to fund.

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They help people travel to get abortion care if they live in a ban state, and they do incredible work. They help so many people. What they do is not only important, but it's very tricky. I'm just so impressed with the work that they do.

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WA:  Can you tell us a bit more about the Brigid Alliance? Are they national? How does that work?

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AJ: Brigid Alliance is a national organization named after Saint Brigid, an Irish saint whose miracle was an abortion. She waved her magic wand over a pregnant lady and boop, it went away.

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WA: Oh, wow.

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AJ: Most Irish people don't know that!

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WA: No way.

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AJ:  Yes.

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WA: No way.

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AJ:  Yeah.

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WA:  I have to look that up immediately.

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AJ:  Look her up.

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WA: That's crazy.

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AJ:  I know, right?

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WA: Okay, give it up for Brigid. 

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AJ: Give it up for Brigid.

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WA: So do you have anything coming up that you want to share with community, any workshops or events? And if not, what are ways folks support you?

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AJ: I am currently working on my next deck of cards, hopefully to be out by the end of the year, called Propaganda Poker, which teaches media literacy in the age of all this nonsense. But really, people can check out the Abortion Trading Cards or check out my other artwork support at my website, alexandrajameson.art, or following me at deliciousalex on Instagram. Get yourself some abortion trading cards. I give 10% of profits to help fund the Bridget Alliance. And it's a very cool, very weird, very Gen X, very goth girl deck of art cards.

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WA: Thank you so much Alex!

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