Cannabis for the deaf and hard of hearing: updating sign language

ECS Therapy Center, a non-profit cannabis education organization, is planning a new program for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The program, entitled « Sign of the Times » aims to create a glossary of cannabis-related signs to give the hearing-impaired community access to the legal cannabis industry and medication from healthcare professionals.

For social and professional integration

The initiative comes from the president and cannabis specialist Dr. Regina Nelson which noted the marginalization of disabled and hearing-impaired people in the cannabis sector. The burgeoning industry held out great hope that traditional inequalities would not be reproduced. Although these inexorably reproduce themselves, However, they are still lower than in other sectors, and initiatives like this one are emerging to ensure the inclusion of social groups that are too often sidelined. «We simply want to bring cannabis businesses into line with the law on disability,» says the president.

To develop this program, she will soon be meeting with a team of certified sign language interpreters in Denver. Together, they will create a video glossary of cannabis terminology. The interpreters will then go on tour to area dispensaries to perfect the signs and their contextualization. “Language changes society, it normalizes things» explains Regina Nelson «I think it's very exciting to empower people through language and enable them to communicate about cannabis and hemp». As cannabis has become a social issue with a complex language, both in its slang and technical aspects, the absence of translation into sign language represents a social and political marginalization, as well as a professional one, for this community.

The project is non-profit and aims to offer free services: «It's a community social service project. We want to provide these resources free of charge to other non-profit organizations and to those working in the cannabis industry,» says the president. However, because of federal prohibition, the project has no access to government subsidies and lacks funding. For the time being, it relies on private donations from individuals and companies: «We hope to succeed in raising funds for the people who work for the hearing-impaired community. We want them to have all the tools and resources they need».