About Us
If you actually take the time to read this, thank you 🫶
A Blazin Grace is a mission-driven store committed to promoting harm reduction and celebrating diverse recovery journeys through our unique range of products. The name, while a playful nod to "Amazing Grace," holds deep personal significance as it reflects both my married name and the crucial role cannabis played in my own healing journey. After countless failed attempts with traditional recovery methods, I reached a point where I had given up on the idea of recovery. Taking what I initially saw as a risk, I turned to cannabis, which ultimately became a transformative part of my healing process. Cannabis allowed me to embrace a new path to life after substance use disorder, one that deviated from the 12-step approach that had been ingrained in me for over a decade.
Finding long-term success with cannabis led me on a journey of deprogramming and self-education. I soon realized that much of what I believed to be facts about myself were actually rooted in 12-step dogma. This revelation ignited a passion in me to share my story and to help others discover the truth. I want to empower people with accurate information and evidence-based resources, so they can make informed decisions about their drug use, free from the stigma and misinformation that so often surrounds these conversations.
Creating The Know More Drugs Initiative
*Click here to learn more about Know More Drugs
In Massachusetts, establishing a nonprofit organization requires a minimum of 3 directors, none of whom can be closely related. They do it that way to have unbiased governance which I totally understand. However, at this point in time, bringing in others just to meet this requirement felt like an unnecessary roadblock, especially when considering the potential risks of involving people who may not fully align with the mission. While forming a nonprofit might be something I explore in the future, for now, my focus is on growing A Blazin Grace to a level where it can sustainably fund the initiatives of Know More Drugs.
One of the great advantages of this approach is that I can obtain naloxone and fentanyl test strips at no cost, significantly reducing the expenses required to kickstart Know More Drugs outreach. Massachusetts offers a community naloxone program that allows eligible organizations to acquire naloxone through the State Office of Pharmacy at a partial or full subsidy. This support allows me to advance my mission of providing education, resources and harm reduction tools without relying on nonprofit grants or navigating the complexities of a formal nonprofit structure.
As A Blazin Grace grows, my goal is for it to fully support these initiatives, allowing me to make a meaningful impact while maintaining control and integrity over the Know More Drugs. Having witnessed some troubling practices in treatment and outreach, I admit to being cautious about others' motives, which reinforces my commitment to staying true to the mission I've built on my own.
Our passion for this is deeply personal. For years, I cycled through treatment centers, detox centers and sober living, becoming indoctrinated by the traditional 12-step framework. In 2008, my husband and I were really struggling with a heroin use disorder (Let me be so for real, saying “heroin use disorder” still does not come natural. I wanted to say we were “heroin addicts” but I have experienced the positive effect person first language has on stigma, so I am working hard to change my language.) and we committed a small series of bank robberies which resulted in my husband’s 9.5-year incarceration and my own 1.5-year bid. Tragically, my husband has also lost five siblings to overdose, which has intensified our resolve to advocate for harm reduction and evidence-based practices.
At A Blazin Grace, we offer a diverse range of harm reduction and other under represented recovery pathways products designed to ignite conversations and dismantle stigma. A big part of our product line will include stickers, notebooks and an array of different recovery pathway journals. In my experience most “recovery journals” are geared to the 12 step pathway. The goal is to support deprogramming, reflection, growth and healing using the pathway that works for you.
A portion of our profits will be used to run Know More Drugs, an initiative I founded to provide balanced, evidence-based education on recreational drug use and substance use disorders. Know More Drugs focuses on harm reduction strategies and advocates for compassionate, evidence based approaches to treatment, challenging outdated stigmas and fostering a more inclusive understanding of drug use and recovery.
Our mission at A Blazin Grace is to build a supportive community that values truth, compassion, and evidence-based care. We strive to empower individuals with the knowledge and resources they need to make informed decisions about their body and find their own path to recovery. By aligning our passion for harm reduction with the mission of Know More Drugs, we aim to create a meaningful, positive impact on the lives we touch.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together we can challenge stigma, promote harm reduction and advocate for
Until The Wheels 🛞 Fall Off,
Tara Grace aka “Burn The Stigma”