Since the legalization of cannabis for adult use in California in 2016, some mothers have decided to try it.
One mother said that cannabis made her parent her two children better, and she claims that using cannabis makes her feel more relaxed and elated.
“Cannabis aids me in some transitional situations,” she explains. “I can more easily leave aside my weekday to-do list, as well as any problems and disappointments I’ve encountered that day, and get into the type of mindset where I can gently help my daughter with schoolwork or prepare dinner with her.”
The mother, who penned the book Weed Mom: The Canna-Curious Woman’s Guide to Healthier Relaxation, Happier Parenting, and Chilling TF Out, says cannabis allowed her to relax enough to spend more time with her children before bed. Because she was frequently in a rush to send them to bed at a reasonable hour – and so purchased some rest for herself – Brand claims she was losing out on time when her children were eager to connect. That meant she missed out on crucial facts about what they were studying, how they felt about school, and their friendships.
Brand states that ‘cannamoms’ like her aren’t a new problem, claiming that she has witnessed years of women using cannabis to parent. As she was writing her book, she discovered that “actual ‘cannamoms’ came out openly and stated they’d needed a book that recognized this as a movement and affirmed we can be great parents and use cannabis at the same time.”
“For a long time, there have been very modest in-person and online cannamom groups,” Brand adds, “but it’s definitely expanding.”
The gradual implementation of state-level legalization in the United States, as well as countrywide legalization in Canada, has increased adult access to cannabis packaged in portioned doses. And, while it’s difficult to say how many moms use cannabis, the growth of online cannamom forums suggests that more mothers are embracing cannabis usage to help them handle life as a parent.
Page Contents:
Is Cannabis Use Same as Drinking Wine?
Heather McIlvaine-Newsad, a researcher, first found out about cannamoms in 2018, thanks to the establishment of Facebook groups oriented on the new social trend. McIlvaine-Newsad, an anthropology professor and co-founder of Western Illinois University’s multidisciplinary minor in cannabis and culture, remarked that several of the Facebook discussion groups had been active for years. She says that there are now more than two dozen such groups on Facebook, each with thousands of members.
Mcllvaine-Newsad illustrates something hitherto unspoken: women use cannabis daily, including tinctures, edibles, edibles, fizzy drinks, and CBD (cannabidiol).
Latrese Thomas, 40, from the United States, says she blends cannabis with parenting her three children “the same way others do wine.”
“After a hard day with the kids – especially during the epidemic, when I was home with all three of my infants all day – after they were sleeping, I was taking oka bath, dropping some cannabis bath salts in my bath, and also smoking cannabis,” Thomas, a mother of two teens and a toddler, says. In the midst of racially charged social upheaval afflicting black neighborhoods, Thomas claims cannabis helped her “manage my anxieties as a parent — not just as a black woman, but as a mother of black children.”
Is Cannabis Good for Your Health?
The research on the advantages and hazards of microdosing, as well as cannabis use in general, is currently equivocal. The National Academy of Sciences discovered in 2017 that there is insufficient data to demonstrate that cannabis can produce the kinds of long-term health problems associated with other narcotics. Another extensive evaluation of cannabis-related damage research released in 2018 reveals some possible hazards to both mental and physical health, as reported in multiple studies — albeit, once again, not all data was precise, and further study is needed. Overall, this highlights the need for further extensive study, as there is often insufficient evidence to form clear conclusions.
Because the information is so complicated and inconclusive, there will be cautions even with microdosing, as with any other psychoactive drug. Adults who have never used cannabis before may find it challenging to handle the substance, especially if they mistakenly consume more than they anticipated. Furthermore, as the market pushes demand for increasingly strong substances that can quickly surpass individual tolerance, the chance of a negative, often scary “green out” for all users increases.
Facing the Stigma
Every debate regarding cannabis usage is tinged with stigma, which is more intense for women who admit to using cannabis.
Although Brand has not personally experienced stigma, she has witnessed some cannamoms being bashed on social media with comments like, “you are a horrible mom” and other mean comments. She also added that some cannamoms’ kids miss out on friendship and playdates due to their agemates’ parents’ stigmas against cannabis.
Safe or Not?
With the legalization of cannabis and the extensive research, societal perceptions have considerably shifted– particularly from where it was decades ago when it was mistakenly thought to be as dangerous as illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin while providing no medical or societal benefit.
But, once again, we don’t have a whole picture of the hazards associated with cannabinoids and recreational cannabis usage — microdosing or not. As a result, for many people, cannabis smoking remains a counterculture phenomenon rather than a mainstream one. Regardless, as McIlvaine-Newsad points out, parents still use cannabis. The cannamom movement is ready to develop as an increasing number of US states and nations across the world take moves toward adult cannabis legalization – albeit slowly.
