A Love Story: Beth Curtis, the Mother Theresa of Marijuana and the hidden gem of Zanesville, Ohio

Apr 15, 2022 | 0 comments

Read about a life well-lived…

…and an unexpected romance.

BONUS: At bottom of story, meet some of the people she helped free from life sentences for marijuana.

By Eiliana Wright
Harm Reduction Ohio Journalism Intern
Denison University ’22

Every year, during each national holiday, Beth Curtis of Zanesville, Ohio, places a stack of cards on her otherwise cluttered work desk. On the front of each card are photos of people who have been sentenced to a life in prison for marijuana.

The addresses on the envelopes belong to senators, state representatives and lobbyists that Curtis wants to nudge towards the goal of marijuana legalization and lowered marijuana sentences.

Curtis, now 80, and founder of the national advocacy group Life for Pot, has been working from her home in Zanesville for 28 years with the mission to set marijuana lifers free. In that time, the “Mother Theresa of Pot Prisoners” has had success in helping to free more than 25 previously incarcerated marijuana offenders. While she’s undoubtedly changed the lives of many people, her life has also been altered in the process. Her dedication has brought both love and heartbreak through the people she’s come to know who have been at the mercy of a system plagued by hypocrisy and injustice.

Curtis’ unique strategy to bring attention to her cause is one based on love, attention to detail and persistence. She hand-addresses every envelope and uses real stamps – a task that consumes hours upon hours every year.

“I know how I sort my mail—and it’s really quick. No stamped envelope? It goes straight to the trash.” She pauses and starts laughing to herself. Then, she puts her thumb and pointer finger in front of her face and twists them ever-so slightly to the right. “And… a stamp that’s slightly askew.” She burst out in laughter.

Curtis knows that if it looks like a real letter, there’s a better chance that someone who matters will open it—and that’s worth the hours upon hours she spends doing mailings every year.

That’s the kind of person Beth Curtis is: the kind that plays the long game and is willing to persist to reach her goals. Throughout her life, she says “Whatever I did, I did it. I cared about not just drifting through.”

continue