Parenting and smoking cannabis

[lindseymw]

I'd like to elaborate on my previous post.

I have taken various drugs in the past BUT I was not responsible for anyone but me at the time. Should I had been arrested, the only person it would affect would have been me. I then grew up. Adults, with no responsibilities, have the means to fund it & not affecting anyone else....go fill ya boots.

Taking illegal drugs when you are parent, you are not just affecting yourself. There is a possibility, as Ozzie mentioned, your child/children will be removed from your care. You could be arrested & in cases be jailed. Why bother risking that whilst you are parent?

I use to drink 3 bottles of wine on a Fri night.......sadly, I don't now because I have children to take care of. I will have the odd glass or two though.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I agree with lindseymw. That's my point as well. It's obviously illegal for a reason. Sure, I drank in college, partied, and stayed up late. I'm a mom now and while I will still go out occasionally, I don't need those things to unwind. I can take a bath, go for a walk, go to theatre. None of those relaxing things require an illegal drug.

 

[louandivy]

It is not illegal because it's more dangerous than alcohol - surely everyone knows that? It is way more complex than that.

And i don't get it - what does your opinion on how much mums should go out have to do with anything?

 

[Ozzieshunni]

To clarify, I was talking about ways to relax and following up on lindsey's post.

 

[lindseymw]

If cannibas were legal, would you all feel differently? It bewilders me that alcohol is viewed as somehow safe and cannibas evil, when there isn't a single recorded case of cannibas alone causing death.

Whilst there hasn't been a single recorded death due to overdosing on cannabis, there has been plenty of deaths where cannabis can be found to have been the cause. Those are two very different things.

 

[Tiff]

My SIL has a medicinal users card. So would the same thoughts still apply to her when you take the illegal aspect out of it?

For the record, I do not smoke weed. I don't like the way it makes me feel so I avoid it like the plague. I have definitely had wine or beer while Claire is sleeping though.

 

[vaniilla]

If it was legal I would have as much of a problem with it as as regular smoking, however it isn't legal and while it remains illegal I will always have a problem with because like I said I could never condone something that funds criminal activity and ultimately other illegal activities such as human trafficking and weapon smuggling. I have nothing against someone for taking it, my problem is their source. Forgot to add - I think drug categorization in this country is completely wrong and has scientifically been proven to be so but that is a different argument.

 

[Tiff]

But its perfectly legal for her to smoke it. She gets it prescribed to her from the government.

ETA - I also think comparing pot smoking to weapons and human smuggling is a bit extreme unless I read the comparison wrong.

 

[vaniilla]

It's not the same thing, Like I said it's only illegal drugs I have a problem with, legal drugs the adult taking it has the responsibility of taking it or not, if somebody gets it prescribed then you can have some reassurance as to where the drug was grown, what with, who harvested it and how it got in the country.

 

[robinator]

Hell, no. I smoked pot once in college and I was so far gone I couldn't move or talk because my lips were completely numb. Fat chance of getting myself to a crying baby and then taking care of her.

Medicinally legal or recreationally illegal, it's still weed.

 

[omfgski]

If someone really was stupid enough to think that just because I occasionally have a spliff to unwind that it makes me a bad parent with no other evidence, I would have nothing to worry about because there is no aspect of my parenting that is questionable. Maybe it depends on the environment you grew up in but I grew up with a family and family friends that smoked cannibas recreationally (and they are not losers, my dad was an artist and architect and my mum owned her own knitwear company) so I have never viewed it as something that is morally wrong or different than alcohol. Personally, I feel more in control when I'm a little stoned than when I drink. How many people do you know that have been arrested for having a very small amount of cannibas and smoking it in their private property?

If cannibas were legal, would you all feel differently? It bewilders me that alcohol is viewed as somehow safe and cannibas evil, when there isn't a single recorded case of cannibas alone causing death.

If it were legal I would still feel the same way about it. And I think taking drugs while caring for children is questionable.

 

[kerrie24]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uk...-hundreds-of-deaths-a-year-coroner-warns.html

https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/20/1074360762037.html

I didnt believe there could have been no deaths caused by cannabis so I googled and loads came up.It doesnt have to be an overdose,it could be that cannabis has made someone make a stupid decision,drive into a crash or beat their partner to death after smoking it.It doesnt relax everyone.

 

[kerrie24]

But its perfectly legal for her to smoke it. She gets it prescribed to her from the government.

ETA - I also think comparing pot smoking to weapons and human smuggling is a bit extreme unless I read the comparison wrong.

I dont think it was intended as a comparison,rather she was trying to say if you backtracked to where(some of) the cannabis had came from,these would be part of the story.

 

[louandivy]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uk...-hundreds-of-deaths-a-year-coroner-warns.html

https://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/20/1074360762037.html

I didnt believe there could have been no deaths caused by cannabis so I googled and loads came up.It doesnt have to be an overdose,it could be that cannabis has made someone make a stupid decision,drive into a crash or beat their partner to death after smoking it.It doesnt relax everyone.

That's why I said cannibas alone has never killed anyone - obviously everyone is different, just like some are violent drunks and some are happy drunks. And obviously driving while intoxicated by anything is completely stupid. Alcohol is a drug too - and as I keep saying the likelihood of being arrested while possessing a very small personal amount of marijuana and smoking it in private is so unbelievably low. I am still failing to understand why it is so much worse than having an occasional glass of wine while the kids are in bed. I dont think I'll bother replying to this thread again, I have too much stuff to do.

But I do understand some of vanillas points, weird to be is disagreeing with you on something!

 

[vaniilla]

You're right, human trafficking is extreme and so is weapon smuggling and yet it is unavoidable in organised crime, Last year the US commissioned the biggest report on human trafficking known to date and one thing was very obvious - drugs and trafficking are inseparable. It's called the "The Trafficking in Persons Report 2011" and drugs are one of the more prominent features. UNICEF is saying that child trafficking is set to become the biggest illegal criminal activity, what are they used for? forced labour yes but more and more increasingly they along with women are used as drug mules and other related industries. Do the research, you don't have to look hard or far to find evidence, organised crime goes beyond petty drugs.


I don't think smoking it is any different to drinking wine - I think people would be surprised to find that although sober after their glass or two of wine they are still over the drinking limit.

 

[jenniferttc1]

My main thing with this, is that it's ILLEGAL where I live. So no you can't compare smoking pot to drinking cause one is illegal and the other is legal. If it was legal, do what you want, just don't do it around me. Me and my husband both hate the smell of pot, even worse than the smell of cigerettes.

 

[RedRose]

But obviously I don't mean smoking in the house or anywhere near kids! I guess that is the only difference between alcohol and cannibal, unless you use a vaporiser.

Cannibalism Lu? Now that is awful

Seriously though, for me, I see cannabis use by parents as exactly the same as alcohol use. Obviously some people are nutcases and have no business smoking or drinking, but apart from them I think it's a pretty legitimate way to unwind when the kids are asleep and I wouldn't think ill of any parent who did.

I think realistically, it's a bit naive to make the distinction that illegal drug use = unacceptable and legal drug use = acceptable. Lets he honest, they are used for exactly the same reasons, and we are talking about reasonable, responsible adults here and not stoners or drunks who can't go without. I think we all know that there is a lot of grey area when it comes to the legality of cannabis, and an otherwise exemplary parent who happens to have a weed plant and smoke it should not and in all likelihood, will not be treated like a criminal.

 

[Piper84]

Smoking a blunt out in the garden and drinking a glass of wine are so not the same thing. Anyone using this argument is also suggesting that people who unwind with a glass of wine of an evening are getting legless, which I doubt is the case in most cases and if so is a matter for child protection agencies.

To the pot smoking parents: Do your dealers come to your home and drop off the drugs or do you go to their place?

 

[RedRose]

Smoking a blunt out in the garden and drinking a glass of wine are so not the same thing. Anyone using this argument is also suggesting that people who unwind with a glass of wine of an evening are getting legless, which I doubt is the case in most cases and if so is a matter for child protection agencies.

To the pot smoking parents: Do your dealers come to your home and drop off the drugs or do you go to their place?

I'll give you my name and address as well shall I? seriously though, sorry, I don't think anyone would answer that

Also, I would equate one person smoking a whole blunt to one person drinking a bottle of wine or more. That is way excessive. It's perfectly reasonable to expect that people are able to know their tolerance levels.

Just for the sake of the debate, I haven't smoked since having my kid, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out in the future or vilify anyone that does.

 

[Tiff]

Not everyone who smokes weed though smokes to the point that they're incapacitated though. Just the same as when people have a glass of wine they don't drink to the point of being totally intoxicated.

There's people I know who smoke a pipe and they get just enough to settle them. Which I personally don't understand as even half a puff off the stuff makes me feel like I'm going to have a heart attack and die. But that's just it - it affects people differently.