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Why, in a world of wine moms and beer dads, would a pot smoking parent be expected? I keep asking myself this question as I manage to parent a 2 year old as a medical cannabis user.
It was easier to answer questions about my cannabis business than to take on the title of mother. If people don’t like it, the ostracization just bothers me. But now that it’s beyond me, as I fill out my son’s social calendar, I’m worried that questions about my work or bedtime will be lost. However, my responsible cannabis use is better than that. Let’s take the quiet parent, for example.
Subtle parenting is a parenting style that takes into account the child’s wishes and feelings about “bad” behavior. Instead of trying to punish their behavior, children and parents open a discussion. Some people think of parenting as letting kids run and make their own rules, but that’s a misconception. It is a constant game of observing the child’s behavior, trying to understand their motivation, and then thinking with the little one, helping them to connect their root desire with a place kind of “perfect”. We use this same parenting style in my family.
This kind of patience is necessary. It’s not as simple as letting a child go to their room. That’s where the microdose of cannabis came in for me.
Now, let’s stand up and say that I do not condone getting stoned (or being stoned) while watching your child. And I don’t believe in self-administering your child to high, even if you are a recreational user with little experience of increasing your dose. But for those humble parents who are familiar with the cannabis plant to count a toke, smoke a vape, or bite a meal down to the milligram, cannabis can be a godsend.
I have been a mother for almost two years, and I have been a cannabis patient for 15. Cannabis has helped me since the day we came back from the hospital with our son. It helped me to calm my emotions after the labor of giving birth and prevent the stimulation while crying all day. And cannabis is my best friend on this happy parenting journey (right after my husband).
For example, while we were playing my little one sometimes hit his toy hammer on every side, it was a fun activity for him to damage the furniture. When I try to stop the behavior it can end up in high anger even if I approach it with low or bad manners. Those are just the kids. As you can imagine, maintaining a calm manner when a little person cries, cries, and sometimes hits you is very difficult. Imagine the same experience, but you’re dealing with a mental microdose of cannabinoids while trying to reason with the little monkey. If you think that using cannabis makes it easier to keep a calm and rational head with a child who doesn’t understand their feelings, then you are right. That is my direct experience.
Again, I don’t agree with being too strict when it comes to your kids. And I don’t like smoking around their kids. But I say that if you have a very difficult day and are ready to cry at the slightest thing, or you start to separate before going, the use of cannabis can be your best friend.
Cara Wietstock is GreenState.com’s senior content producer and has worked in the cannabis space since 2011. She has covered the cannabis industry for Ganjapreneur and The Spokesman Review. You can find her living in Bellingham, Washington with her husband, son, and a small zoo of animals.