14 DAY TRIAL // For several days now, there has been a lot of talk about whether mothers should smoke marijuana or knock back a couple of glasses of wine to destress at the end of a very hard day. The Today Show tried to get the story straight from moms from the former group.
The debate started when one mom told Jezebel that she would smoke pot every day of the week even when she was supposed to be taking care of the kids, because that was the only way she knew how to destress.
Now, more women are coming out of the woodwork to say the same: marijuana is not addictive and it's not harmful to anyone; if anything, it's better to be stoned than to be drunk around your kids, they say.
As you can easily imagine, this perspective on things has gotten even more people talking, with many saying that both attitudes are just as damaging.
The Today Show spoke with Margaret, a 45-year-old mother of two who says she's made a habit of sneaking in the garage in the evening for a puff.
She believes she wouldn't be able to cope with everything in her life if it weren't for marijuana and is adamant she's doing nothing wrong – unlike other mothers who choose to take the edge off with alcohol.
“Being judged for doing something nontoxic and totally organic, enjoying a god-given plant, by moms who suck back two bottles of Chardonnay like sports drinks feels like [expletive],” Margaret says.
“Any hypocrisy is hard to swallow. A drunk mother is pathetic and I often leave parties when I experience other mothers tying one on,” she adds.
A group called Moms for Marijuana International agrees: marijuana isn't hurting anyone, not even mothers who are supposed to be on alert at all times because they're caring for their kids.
NORML's Women's Alliance is of the same mind, with Co-Vice Chair Diane Fornbacher saying marijuana would be a much better alternative to alcohol if it were legal.
“No matter what you use, you shouldn’t be judged if it works for you, you’re productive, and you do no harm,” Fornbacher says for the same media outlet.
“Marijuana parents aren’t perfect, but they’re far less imperfect than parents who use alcohol irresponsibly. Cannabis can influence people to be nicer to one another. You rarely find a story that says two stoners beat each other up outside of a bar,” she continues.
Even so, it would seem that these mothers did not even consider that better than using alcohol and marijuana is being a sober parent, many angry voices are saying online.