Parenting on Pot
If weed is the new wine, is it acceptable to use in front of your kids?
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One of Jenn Lauder’s favorite family traditions is movie night with her husband and 11-year-old daughter. One week it’s The Princess Bride, another evening it’s whatever’s on Netflix. Before she hits play, she heads to the kitchen where she nibbles on some cannabis-infused nut butter, or she’ll take a quick hit on a concentrate pen — her current go-to is Pineapple Jager, a CBD-rich strain. “You want anything?” she asks her husband.
Back in the living room, she sinks into the couch, waiting for the moment when the cannabinoids hit her bloodstream and her “always on” brain finally slows down. “It helps me focus on what I’m doing in the moment,” she says. “[I’m able] to be really aware and connected to the people I’m with.” Her daughter knows the smell of “mommy’s medicine” — and that it’s not for her. “We’re as clear [with her] as people with a bottle of wine,” says Lauder. “Cannabis is for grown-ups, unless there’s a child with an extenuating medical need.” As a resident of Oregon, which legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, Lauder says that cannabis cookouts are as common as wine clubs.
“I don’t wake up and think of myself as a cannamom — I just want to live my life and enjoy edibles at the end of the day.”
In 1996, California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Recreational cannabis started to become available in the United States in January 2014. Today, 33 states plus Washington, D.C. allow medical marijuana, and 11 states now authorize its recreational use.
Now one in five users are parents and 63% of them use daily, according to a survey by cannabis delivery startup Eaze. Reasons people use marijuana vary from relaxation to pain relief to wellness, with parents being 52% more likely than other adults to replace booze with weed. And they’re often upfront about it, with 47% saying they discuss their cannabis use with their kids.
“I’m a parent and a writer and a lover and I happen to like marijuana too,” says Lauder. “It’s not an identity. I don’t wake up and think of myself as a cannamom — I just want to live my life and enjoy edibles at the end of…
