Where are my fellow stony parents?

If you’re a parent, especially as we enter probably they weirdest school year ever, you need little justification to find ways to decompress. I don’t wanna be Mommy Dearest, so I smoke the weeds. I’m a mom and a caregiver, they’re roles I wouldn’t trade but they’re unyielding as well as stressful physically and mentally.

Cannabis is *central* to my selfcare regime, as is time alone, exercise in the forms of hikes, watersports, and gardening, and a healthy dose of tune-out time watching weirdass crap on TV. (S/O to #90dayfiance ) I was recently asked, as a mother, how cannabis and hemp impacts my life, I gave a quick answer but afterward I realized there were so many nuances that emerged.

For me, herb is a support system, medication, recreation, meditation, and social change all wrapped up in a joint. It helps me calm from stressors so I don’t snap at people I love; it quells aches, pains, and illnesses naturally and effectively to get me moving again (moms always are on the move!); herb is fun to smoke when relaxing, aiding in reaching the goal of rest; and cannabis helps me get in touch with my inner sanctum, too - she’s my ideal meditation guide and yoga partner.

And, most importantly, cannabis is a tool for social change. For too long, Black and Brown bodies have been incarcerated for the same thing I do, regularly, in public, without an ounce of fear. None. Zero.

Remember that Black people are FOUR TIMES as likely to be arrested for marijuana charges while Whites smoke weed at the exact same rate.

Yes, weed is intertwined in almost every part of my life. And I’m not apologizing for it, obviously, in fact I’m striving to be even more “out” so others feel they can do the same. There is no shame in smoking herb. Period. Someday we’ll make our laws catch up with us.

How does cannabis help you show up as a parent? Has it changed over the last six months?