otherhood is many things. It is beautiful, it is messy, it is really damn hard, it is fun, it is dramatic, it is challenging, it is rewarding. The role of Mother is arguably one of the most judged positions on Earth. Pore over any of the social media sites and it won’t take long to find a mother being judged for any number of reasons large or small. I reviewed social media to gather some of this data. After a couple minutes of review, I noted that moms are being judged for using bug spray on their kids, feeding their children fast food, feeding their kids a vegan diet, exposing their kids to the sun, giving their kids smart devices, clothing their kids in non-organic cotton, shopping at Walmart, leaving their 10 year old in the car during a quick stop into a gas station for a cup of coffee, consuming cannabis, and drinking wine. Except moms are not being judged for drinking wine. They’re being embraced because of their decision to drink a couple glasses of wine after a long day with their kiddos! Why? Because alcohol is normalized and accepted in our culture. The moms who choose to use cannabis though? These moms are perhaps the most judged of the lot. Because, stigma. Honestly, that’s one of the main reasons for this
The Cannabis Closet Minority :
Mothers
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discrepancy between the wine drinking mothers and the cannabis-consuming mothers. It’s stigma.
So let’s review a few of the reasons, inaccurate data, and common themes as to why stigma keeps cannabis-consuming mothers in the closet, and how we can stop stigma from being a point of judgement for these mothers.
Cannabis impairs a mother’s ability to care for her child or children.
It certainly can, but in many cases, mothers who consume cannabis for the purpose of treating symptoms related to chronic conditions enjoy relief, thereby helping these mothers be present and available to care for their child and/or children.
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