Marijuana Mamas!


Gina Kaysen Fernandes: A new wave of reefer madness is sweeping suburbia -- but it's not just teenagers who are lighting up. Middle-aged, middle-class soccer moms are smoking pot ... a lot. These women aren't stoners: they're teachers, lawyers, and, perhaps, even your neighbor who prefers puffing a joint to sipping chardonnay.

"Marijuana is the magic in my life that helps me unwind, stay sane, and have more energy," says Sonia, a 24-year-old mother from Los Angeles. Working full-time as a restaurant manager leaves Sonia feeling stressed out and drained at the end of the day. She smokes once or twice daily to relax. "I have a stressful job, it's something that helps me wind down so I don't take out my frustration on my husband or my child."
Sonia became a mother at the age of 22 and suffered from some depression. She turned to marijuana to help curb the baby blues. A doctor later diagnosed Sonia with anxiety and wrote her a prescription for the herbal remedy. Sonia gets her stash from a medicinal marijuana clinic and takes comfort in knowing the pot she smokes is legal and high quality.

Mary is a 37-year-old, self-employed mother in Seattle who smokes pot several times a week. "It is relaxing, fun, and once in a while I self-medicate for cramps or headaches," said Mary. She says she prefers smoking to drinking beer because it's easier on the body and has fewer calories. Mary buys her bags from a dealer, making it more risky because "there's still a real danger of being arrested," says Mary.

The website, Chikii.com, surveyed hundreds of women nationwide between the ages of 25 and 60 years old. Out of that group, 52% admitted to using marijuana at least ten times a year. 27% smoked between one and seven times a week. And 78% of those women knew someone who got high on a regular basis.

The results of recent surveys are no surprise to Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML. "These findings are indicative of women's willingness to admit to the social stigma that was so high in the 1970s and 80s," said St. Pierre.

Both women who shared their stories with momlogic say that many of their friends smoke weed. But while it seems "marijuana mamas" are everywhere, this silent majority prefers to stay in the shadows. "They think if they admit it, it makes them a bad mom," says Sonia, who believes the opposite is true. "It makes me a better mother. It clears my head and allows me to focus on my child." Mary says it's important to be a responsible smoker "by doing it mindfully, only when I have downtime."

Sonia has a 2-year-old and is a few years away from the dreaded drug talk. But she doesn't plan to hide her habit from her son. "I want to be honest, I don't want him to feel marijuana is an evil thing," said Sonia. Mary says she's very open about her drug use with her daughter, Sierra. "We talk about responsible use pretty often," says Mary. Both women say they never smoke in the house or in front of their children.

There's a lot of debate over how to talk to kids about using drugs without sounding like a hypocrite, especially if you're the one hitting the bong. Zero-tolerance proponents believe you must support abstinence only. But advocates say a more real-world approach is to discuss drug use in moderation. This method is detailed in a pamphlet called "Safety First: A Reality-Based Approach to Teens and Drugs," which is distributed by the California PTA.

This growing group of ganja smokers certainly has the attention of lawmakers. A renewed debate is heating up over legalizing (or at minimum, taxing the medicinal sales of) marijuana to cash in on this potential cash cow. According to NORML, marijuana remains the fourth largest cash crop in America, in spite of the estimated $10 billion that law enforcement spends annually to attempt to outlaw the plant. In California, marijuana is the number-one cash crop. Thirteen states have laws on the books that allow for medicinal use of marijuana. The most recent federal survey finds more than 100 million Americans have tried pot at some point, and more than 14 million used it in the past month. "I think a lot of moms are starting to loosen up," says Sonia.

Both of these moms support legalizing marijuana. "It will help our economy, help our state, and take away that stigma," said Sonia. Mary believes pot smoking should be about personal choice, not politics. "I'm an adult and I make life or death decisions every day. The drug war has killed lots of people; smoking pot hasn't killed anyone."

What do you think? Are these moms on the right track -- or are they whacked out on more than just weed?

I love running into articles like this. This is for everyone to join on in and share your stories, Moms, Dads and yes even if you were the child in the story. Is it any different now compared to what it was years ago. Thank you and I do hope you enjoyed




Busted for Pot!
Read more: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/06/mari...#ixzz0Pc7CmwOt

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When My kids were growing up my use of marijuana was never a big deal,, the kids never seemed to be aware that there was anything wrong with my smoking,, Oh I didn't smoke it while right next to them, it was done with respect to the kids, the same as you would do with smoking ciggs. All seemed ok with this herb that I felt should be legal, until this program called Dare came along in the schools to teach kids about drugs and all that is bad about them.. It is important to discuss these things starting out when they are young, something I had benn doing myself. The police department created Dare, of course pot was included in the list of horrible drugs,,this is what was taught, The kids were also taught to rat on anyone that was doing drugs, that included their parents.. It was then that for the first time in my kids life that I had to start hidding my actions from my kids... This program and a police officer was telling my kids that I was a criminal if I smoked pot and they were being taught to be a rat... It was crazy. But when they got older all went back to being able to be me and to be honest with my family. I have good kids who are now grown and their life with a mom who smoked the herb did not make them to be druggies. Mom was not lazy and crazy, well some might say I am crazy,,lol I have always told my kids, I would rather have them smoke pot then to take up drinking... I believe that my pot has gotten me through some tiring times as a mom of four and also being a person with bi-polar.

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My mom could have used some bud...

I had to laugh on that one Michael,, also could relate... my mom did a lot of hollering and screaming with five kids, she sure could of used a few tokes..lol

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Hey everyone, I'm getting ready soon to do an inside grow and I got to thinking while day dreaming, sure I am not a mom anymore who has to hide our smoking or growing but, I seemed to have a granddaughter now, who will be curious as to why grandmas plants are in a small closet that dad just built.. As it is, she discovered me while harvesting, asked what I was doing? Well I just told her I was drying out flowers. Why in the heck is it still this way, why do I have to still hide what I love doing? Boy it boils me that it is like this, Knowing me I will go ahead and have my grow and deal with what to say and do when the time comes. But what do you think about whether or not to grow inside, and does it drive you crazy that it is still in the closet kind of thing with this plant that should be legal, even after all these years...

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