Our mission
We want communities to see the human cost of cannabis prohibition through the testimony of those affected by the
War on Drugs.

Cruel Consequences: Portraits of Misguided Law is a 501c3 nonprofit cannabis social justice portrait collection founded in Virginia in 2018 by photographer and medical cannabis patient, Tamara Netzel. She created a growing portrait exhibit of people criminalized for cannabis and invites others to take a closer look at how decades of propaganda influenced perceptions led to stigma influenced policies denying Americans life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Cruel Consequences has held discussions at community events, college classes, and events like the Virginia Attorney General’s Cannabis Summit in December 2019, the 2019 NORML Conference in D.C. and the 2020 Virginia NORML Conference.
During the pandemic, Cruel Consequences Exhibits has been fortunate to have the ability to continue to display our portrait collection in cannabis dispensaries thanks to donations from dispensary owners. Our exhibits are now in 5 dispensaries! Dispensary owners have told us it has made a difference to their customers to see they support ending the human cost of marijuana criminalization.