Voices
KETTERINGHAM &
MENDENHALL
HUFFINGTON
10.21.12
Some
Pro-Pot
Parents
Blog, Others
Lose Their
Children
RECENTLY, The New York Times
published an op-ed by an art dealer and father from San Francisco
titled “Pot for Parents.” It was just
the latest in a growing number of
pieces published espousing the
benefits of marijuana use for parents. These pro-pot missives share
a carefree and cavalier tone, portraying marijuana use as an upscale
diversion that ameliorates stress
and leads to more patience and
creative parenting. The “best part”
of marijuana use, the “Pot for Parents” author writes, “is an amazing off-label benefit I call Parental
Attention Surplus Syndrome”: the
ability to perform obligatory paren-
ILLUSTRATION BY KYLE T. WEBSTER
tal duties with genuine enthusiasm
after using marijuana.
Whatever benefits marijuana use
may or may not have for parenting, to those of us who represent
parents in New York City’s Family
Courts, these articles only highlight a daily reality: when it comes
to drug use, there are very different rules for poor parents, and
particularly poor parents of color.
The disproportionate and devastating impact of the drug war on poor
communities of color, in terms of
Emma S.
Ketteringham
is the
managing
attorney and
Mary Anne
Mendenhall
is a staff
attorney at
The Bronx
Defenders,
Family
Defense
Practice