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| Why marijuana improves the parenting experience | ||
 by Neal Pollack, December 8, 2006 |
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When my son was 18 months old, my best friend from high school came through town on his way to California. He’s a respected physician and my most trusted medical counselor. We went back to my office and looked over my stash.
More Useful than a Bugaboo: The Silver Surfer“Dude,” he said. “You’ve got to stop smoking this shit.”
“I know,” I said. “With the kid around…”
“You need to buy a vaporizer.”
“Oh.”
“You get really high, and you don’t mess up your lungs. Also, there’s no odor. It’s awesome.”
My 35th birthday was approaching, and I needed to get myself a present. So I went vaporizer shopping online. I found a website for a sleek, gorgeous ceramic contraption called The Silver Surfer. New terms entered my stoner lexicon: “heat source,” “mouthpiece,” “whip,” “wand.” It would be the greatest present I’d ever give myself. No more apple bongs for me. I had to consume my THC wisely. I was a dad now.
*****
I’m a man of few vices. Alcohol doesn’t appeal to me, except in very limited quantities. I don’t play a lot of cards or smoke cigars, and I’m really not that into porn. My naughtiness all goes into the herb, and it’s as low-level as naughtiness gets.
Before my son was born, my hobby went like this: When I had weed in the house, I’d do it a lot, and when I didn’t, I wouldn’t do it at all. I could go two months without it, or go two months with daily use. Usually, it moved in cycles. It never really occurred to me to give it up just because I’d become a parent. It didn’t even occur to me that anyone would expect me to give it up. If anything, parenthood meant that marijuana became a larger part of my life. Whereas before the boy’s arrival I’d often leave the house after 9 PM for a party, or a bar, or a movie, now my social life had contracted. By the kid’s bedtime, I’m often exhausted, and even if I’m not, babysitters run $10 an hour these days. A hit off the Silver Surfer and a night of Turner Classic Movies has become, for me, an acceptable middle ground.
Then the morning comes, and I have responsibilities. I don’t Silver Surf when I have to drive Elijah somewhere, I don’t do it when I’m going to be alone with him for any extended period of time, and I’m very rarely baked before sundown. Since all that put together comprises 97 percent of my parenting time, there’s very little crossover with the weed. Occasionally, I’ll be stoned at the wrong moment, which will lead me to misjudge children’s entertainment, like the time I told my wife, “Dude, 64 Zoo Lane is so trippy.” But as far as I’m concerned, weed, in very limited quantities, just improves the parenting experience. Everyone knows that TV is better when you’re high.
Anyone who says it’s impossible to be a stoner and a parent has either never been a stoner, or never been a parent. The dominant attitude among stoner dads—and moms—goes like this: Consuming pot is something, like watching college football or masturbating, that you used to do all the time, but now will do only if it’s convenient and appropriate to the moment. Still, there’s a kind of secret, unspoken society. I’ve been to many backyard family barbecues where another dad and I will discover that pot is a shared habit. The discussion will quickly veer into the familiar. We discuss our favorite varietals. We recount great pot-smoking moments of our past. Someone tells a story about a dude he knows who’s got a medical marijuana prescription. Then things invariably wind down the same way:
Newly Controversial: Time Magazine on pot-smoking parentsDad: So do you have any?
Me: No. Do you?
Dad: Nah. I had some a few weeks ago.
Me: So did I. Give me a call if you ever get some.
Dad: Cool.
Me: Cool.
Pot-smoking parents didn’t use to be controversial. My parents never consumed anything stronger than box wine; my dad was the only soldier in Vietnam, other than maybe John McCain, who didn’t do drugs. But even if my parents had stashed a half-ounce of Maui Wowie in the underwear drawer, I can’t imagine it would have been a big deal around the house. The country was loose about weed then. No one gave it much of a thought.
When I was a kid, a Time magazine cover like the one on Dec. 9, 1996, would never have been possible. An aging Michael Doonesbury sits on his daughter’s bed, while Garry Trudeau’s talking joint character stands in the background. The text reads, “You tried pot when you were young. Maybe you even inhaled. So now what do you say to your kids?”
Even though I wasn’t to be a dad for six years, and hadn’t even met my wife yet, I knew then that the culture had turned. Parenting, rather than just being a natural, if challenging, byproduct of biology, had somehow become a sacred act. And smoking pot was a violation of its sanctity. Well, I never bought into that, and I’m not alone. Society is right to demand that parents treat their kids with respect and love, and provide them with food, clothing and shelter. But sainthood shouldn’t be a requirement.
In a perfect world, or at least a better one, smoking pot would not carry any cultural meaning at all. My casual little habit doesn’t prevent me from fulfilling my parental duties, and no matter what DARE and the DEA might say, it has little or nothing to do with the crack epidemic or the spread of crystal meth. I think that weed should be legal, and I’m not going to lie about that to my kid if he asks me. Someday I’ll have an intelligent conversation with him about the pros and cons of legalization, and about the politics of prohibition. But he’s not ready for such a conversation yet.
In the meantime, I’m downplaying my marijuana use. There’s a little water closet off my office that I use as a peccadillo repository of sorts. The other day, Elijah used my bathroom because the other one was occupied. He spotted the Silver Surfer on the floor.
“What’s that, daddy?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “Just something daddy uses to help him with his breath.”
“Good,” he said. “Your breath stinks sometimes.”
“Yeah, well, so does yours.”
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Tanya
Just a reminder to the nursing student. Pot is and Illegal substance and will not only get you fired but will have the State board of nursing revoke your license. I think parents continuing to smoke pot is selfish because in today's society with all the random drug testing it can be very difficult to keep a job. I also don't think parent should drink either because it is much more impairing and leads to more accidents and abuse.
roger
you go man...blessings to you and yours..: )
Anonymous
I'm 17 and I used to smoke a lot of weed, but recently I'v been cutting down just because I'm sick of it. that's not saying I'v quit entirely, I'll still smoke up with my friends every week or so, but I'm not smoking pot every day like I used to. I don't see why everyone makes such a big deal about weed. If anything, alcohol is more dangerous to society. alcoholics have shorter tempers and don't think things through as much. if anything, a stoner will will spend more time contemplating an action. stoners aren't bad people, and just because it's the law doesn't make it fair or reasonable. people need to stop looking at the law as a guideline for morality and decide for themselves what's right and wrong.
JewcyCraig
Let's illegalize alcohol.
Anonymous
Craig,
I encourage you to start work on that constitutional amendment right away. It worked so well last time....
JewcyCraig
I was not aware that it was ever Prohibited in the past, say, century. Well no matter. Surely with all of alcohol's staunch opponents, the marijuana users, it will truly take off this time. I will call the movment: Prohibitation. Yes. Prohibitation. Perfect.
Anonymous
Here's the 1920 amendment Joey. I know some have suggested replacing "intoxicating liquors" with "twinkies and similar foods", but I doubt the stoners would join that one.
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Anonymous
anyone who needs to get high is a loser. the fact that you're a parent and you get stoned makes you one even more so. you are obviously a self absorbed weasel who wouldn't know a diaper from a tampon.
JewcyCraig
With brilliant arguments like that, who needs friends?
Anonymous
Everyone with half a brain and no political agenda knows that weed is much safer than alcohol. Driving on it is nuts and homicidal, obviously. That goes for doing it when you're alone and responsible for the kids ('cuz you never know when you might have to drive...).
Otherwise, kick back and light up. It's no one's business but you're own.
Valerie
So several years ago I read about a study on pot vs. alcohol and performing tasks. There were two kinds of tasks: routine familiar tasks and new unfamiliar tasks. So people stoned on weed did better with one kind and poorer on the other. People inebriated on alcohol performed just the opposite. So here is a few ellipses for you to figure out the results...........
In fact, stoners performed worse on routine tasks and better on unfamiliar tasks. Drinkers performed better on familiar tasks and worse on unfamiliar tasks. I would conclude, therefore, that stoner dad might put the pampers on backwards, but will be able to perform an excellent evacuation if the smoke alarm goes off. I would rather have a stoner dad than a drinker dad any day of the week.
Anonymous
THAT'S AWFUL. Is that how you get high? By swearing? You fooooool!!!!
Don't you know you've passed that on to your children and now they will swear on your life behind your hairy back...
...Bee-aaaTCH!
Have an ICE day!
yOU COLD BAR STEWARD. yOU'RE A BACKWARD AIR CONDITIONER MADE OF CHEESE. IT'S SO CHEESY YOU'RE LIKE THE SILVER SURFER WITH DIAMOND NIPPLES SPREAD CHEESE INSTEAD OF ICE. YOUR SURFING A CHEESY WAVE SOWING THE SEEDS OF CHEESE IN THE CHEESEY SEAS. DON'T GET ATTACKED BY THE CHARNESE WASPERS. IT 'S SNOT WHAT COMES OUT, BUT WHAT COMES OUT SNOT (NAAAAAAART!)
wellfleation
I bet that those who are so quick to judge and degrade those who choose to smoke marijuana (whether parents or otherwise) have no problems with those who are prescribed antidepressants or sleeping medications. Are these people viewed by YOU as being irresponsible, as being selfish ass-holes?
I myself am prescribe to take Ativan (1mg) and Trazodone (50mg) for sleep. The Ativan is extremely addictive and the Trazodone a little less so but still addictive. This being the case, when I have marijuana I do not need to take these medications. Moreover, Marijuana is not physically addictive nor does it make one irrational or incapable of functioning at a totally safe level.
Now go ahead and take your prescribed Valium or drink your wine, your scotch, or your beer, and feel free to look down on others because your vice is legal, and/or, prescribed by your drug doctor. Tell yourself it's okay because your doc says so.
Wonderful! Pathetic! How open minded you are. *sigh*
Anonymous
i wonder if i should marry my boyfriend because he smokes pot all the time. i love him and would have no reservations if it weren't for his habit. we are still young but i still have these questions in the back of my mind and reading what others have experienced is comforting.
fischerr3
my old man took me to have my first drink with him when i was 11... but it was just a glass of wine with the family for thanksgiving...
we had our first smoke together for my 15th birthday... even though i had been smoking for a year or two already...
but basicly my old man is my best friend to this day... and im a married man of 5 years with a kid and i work a pretty sweet sattelite communications job in different countrys for about 80 grand a year... and im only 25 with no degree... obviously my smoking didnt hurt anything...
and i have a better relationship with my father because of it...
DiegoM
someone that makes sense!!! unlike everyone else that tries to turn it into some crazy controversial topic. Smoking up is exactly like a light switch to anyone that does. being able to relax on command is not exactly easy.
all i have to say is...
if it works stick with it!
if it doesnt make it work!
Anonymous
When I was growing up I knew a couple of kids with stoner parents. now they're grown and pretty screwed up themselves. I don't believe in smoking ANYTHING when you're a parent.
Anonymous
I've noticed exactly the opposite. Kids with parents who smoke pot not only do it themselves when they're older but also tend to be screwed up all around. (lack of responsibility, harder drugs, destructive behaviors, smoking cigarettes)
hlkolaya@Yahoo.com
Anonymous
I've never seen anything good come out of a parent smoking. the kid always smokes too and usually worse.
hlkolaya@yahoo.com
Helena's Furie
It has been my observation that people simply are who they are.
People tend to make arguments as to whether or not any vice improves or impairs someones parenting abilities. I disagree.
Take alcoholics, there are some that are perfectly nice and social, responsible (as much as anyone with an addiction can be) and most things good (BTW, people don't typically label this type as "alcoholic", even though they can still qualify). Then there is the opposite, the A-Hole that is abusive, picks fights, neglects their responsibities, etc.
Would anyone try to tell me that it is the alcohol that is making the person acting this way?
Sorry Charlie, it isn't. That person is exactly who they are, whether they have had some drinks in them or not. Certain types of vice only bring out the person that you truly are anyway.
So, if you are a shitty excuse for a human being then nothing is going to change that.
Consequently if you are good person/parent, then any vice (toking, smoking, drinking, eating fast food, watching TV, surfing the net or playing video games) is not going to change how well you parent.
To summarize, STOP FINDING SCAPE GOATS.
Kit
Depends on the context.
In suburbia, when parents smoke openly kids rebel by not smoking.
In the projects where I spent my early parenting years and where my sisters still live, deal, and raise kids - the parents who smoke openly have kids who smoke by 10, whereas the ones who hide it and try to keep their kids away from it have kids who start at 16 or so or not at all.
Of course, many of my relatives who never got out, deal, and deal more than pot.
I think American class division makes a HUGE difference in the drug scene.
Anonymous
Crack is wack
Crack is cool
Anbody who don't see dat
Is a god damn fool!
Anonymous
I quit weed 3 years ago after a 35 year habit - smoking all day and every day. I appeared the normal kinda guy - good job, high income, wife, 2 kids, home in central London, pillar of jewish community etc etc. Problem was dope was my life first and foremost - lived to get stoned - spent much time planning when to have the next smoke and hide it from wife, kids, work colleagues etc. In the end was all too much, and what made me quit was hating the thought of my daughters living this kind of deception and psychological bondage.
I feel much better without any guilt - do miss it and don't condemn it. Dope today is much stronger than when I started - very much a different drug, and certainly habit forming. My experience isn't to say don't - just keep your eyes open
Anonymous
thank you for this post, You said it all and said it right. This guy lies to himself and everyone. wow, great quality in a parent
marcus72ch
As the author of the report said "i won't lie to my kids if they ask" that's the best way to handle it and in my opinion the only one to prevent them from real dangers!! As I was in school (germany / 80's) we had films and lessons in school which tried to teach you in summary: "smoke a joint and you'll be 6 feet under within 1 year".
Than you'll tried the first and suddenly recognized that these reports, lessons and stuff were all bullshit and nothing else. And exactly this is/was the biggest danger, because when you recognize that they fooled you so much with the weed you start thinking "might they have done the same to me with cocain, LSD, heroin and stuff...because when they lie once..why won't they lie with all the other shit" and just thinking about this possibility will bring the respect from the "Hard stuff" down on a level that opens the door to every skilled talking drug-dealer. So in my opinion the best way to keep your kids away from the real dangerous stuff is telling them the entirely truth to get their respect and to make them accepting you knowledge. When they belive you what you are telling them (about weed) and their own experience will go conform with that, the chance that they believe you saying "never take the hard stuff it will destroy your life" is much higher than if you are trying to tell them horror story to keep them away from everything....once a liar..always a liar.. That is something also teenies will think when they think they have been fooled!!
Anonymous
My experience with cannabis addiction was the associated guilt and low self esteem that came from lying to myself and to all, and falling short as a parent. Recognising this was why I stopped.
I believe with long term use, a relationship with cannabis competes with other relationships, and like other drugs, it can take over. Distinctions between "soft" and "hard" drugs in this respect are largely meaningless - even more so given the abundance of super-skunk and other variants which are very different to the pot we smoked in the 1960s.
Anonymous
Do not condone your kids smoking weed. as long as they are still kids that is, if they are adults or close to (16-18) then let it go cuz if you try and stop them they'll be more likely to do it more when they move out.
I don't care HOW LAZY YOU ARE/how hyper your kid is, don't give them weed, their brain is still developing. Allowing them to do something that kills tons of brain cells at a time is a good way to show your kid that you don't care and that you don't care if they reach anything close to their true potential academically.
And they'll be likely to try something stronger.
But if you are a parent who smokes, that's your business. If you're taking good care of your kid then it shouldn't matter at all.
and as for lying, how tender have we become if years later we told our kids we really had been smoking all those years even when we said we weren't, and they are offended. really. If that messes you up then you are a cream puff and need to grow up.
Alyssa
It's never been a big deal, because I have many stoner friends, but if they're stoned all the time...it gets extremely annoying because they're not there.
I'm just going to laugh the day you kid's got something really important going on, or really needs to talk to you,
but you're not coherent or conscious because, oh, you're high.
Well, your kid's going to learn to deal with shit on his own, I guess.
But if he ends up a serial killer due to all the buildup from not being able to communicate with you, I'm going to laugh harder.
So, hey, drugs are fine. Just remember though, you miss the most important parts...and I'm willing to bet those things you'll miss later, without ever realizing what they are.
But hey, you can get high and forget about it.
blackrose
As someone who believed all the bullshit DARE program about pot only to find out that i was duped, i was way more inclined to try it. Which i did, and aside from smoking it which is bad for the simple fact that putting smoke into your lungs is bad, period, i didn't see anything wrong with it. It is just something my friends and i do to relax, and we do not do this all the time. As for being a parent, it's just the same as unwinding with alcohol(in moderation of course) If the man is being a responsible parent, then there is really no need to berate him for his recreational habits. Pot shouldn't even be illegal in the first place(war on drugs=EPIC FAIL) Now if he was stoned all the time and in front of his kids i could see an issue, but this doesn't seem to be the case. It's just the same as alcohol use, just with less health effects
Picktown Mike
...you come off like a Silver Surf salesman.
I am all for legalization of all drugs (no kidding, I am).
If everyone had access to pot, there wouldn't be so many drunken parents. That's is the worst in my experience.
Anonymous
I agree with Helena's Furie on this matter. Also I found a little tidbit of information about driving and being stoned. Might be something you didn't expect or you may have read it before. Also I'd like to add that I have been smoking on and off since 16 and I'm 20 now, and often smoke before I drive, calms me down. Zero accidents, bumps, fender-benders and NO TICKETS. Knock on wood. I live in Duluth Minnesota too, snow, ice, sleet, extreme lake effect snow (Lake Superior), the works. And I love it.
Now I'm not saying go get stoned and drive because you'll be better than before, just make sure you know what your getting yourself into first.
Heres the link btw: http://www.cannabisculture.com/news/driving
There are links to all of the studies that have been preformed in the last couple decades. Also, knowing the internet these days I'm sure one could find information that is exactly the opposite, but until then these are legit and real studies.
"Marijuana is meant to enhance your life...not be your life."
Ninja-D
mmm yep... i agree... my mom and stepdad are stoner parents... wouldnt have it any other way either. but then again i am just another stoner, lol.
barely 18
I dig it, as a kid I got a false perception of weed and other such drugs. I was taught it was a horrible sin never to be committed. So of course like any kid I did it. Ended up sneaking around, lying to my parents. I got over that, grew my own identity. As a suggestion for parents, don't hide it from your kids, embrace it, teach them etiquette, what to avoid, and above all provide a safe environment instead of your kids trying to sneak around to probably a dangerous situation. Just something I could have used
luvinmomofone1
ok i have read everyones comments on this subject and i agree with some and disagree with others..i have been clean from HARD DRUGS LIKE METH AND COCAINE AND HEROIN for over 18 YEARS. i have been a stoner mom all my sons life til around 4 months ago. my son is now 17 and hes turned into a stoner around age 15. he got very uninspired in schoool..he flunked out and quit! now i applaud him since hes gotten his ged and very very high grades and wants to pursue college! he works full time and is becoming responsible young adult. but up til 4months ago he was very UNRESPOSIBLE he would use his whole paycheck to buy pot and then if he got ripped off ...which he did for a few hundred dollars , he would just ignore the situation and go buy more! he wants to better his life he says because we have been poor ALL his life..i am on ssi/disabilty all his life! fixed income and all that!! i am on govt. subsidised houseing and if he was to be caught smoking pot or drinking i would lose it and have to pay full rent which i cannot afford!! he would tell all his friends that i smoked pot which i didnt want ANY of them to know..and you c annot get a better paying job than fast food u nless you DONT do drugs or smoke pot...they now do mandatory drug testing to apply and if they dont they will do a mandatory one if you get hurt on the job..which rules out any kind of workmans comp.. my son and i both wrote out a contract about 2 months ago and gave it to his therapist and both signed said contract in writing saying we were BOTH not going to smoke pot anymore!! we havent smoked ..either of us for around 2 months now and i have quit smoking ciggarettes around 5 months now!! ..my son still smokes ciggarettes!! i dont buy him anything..he has other ppl that gets stuff for him..he also drinks occasionally which i dont like.. but hes pretty much emancipated so i cannt say much! i am proud of him for his decision to quit smoking pot..it would be differeint if he was a responisble user but he was not!! he deserves much better out of life that what he got raised with..i hope and wish him all the best in his adult life...
oh yea...i would love to vaporize myself at this moment but as long as my son still lives at home and we have this signed contract i will not break it! i want him to see how it is to be responsble adult!
Anonymous
Now I wanna get Stoned!!!!
Anonymous
i'm an 18 year old college student. my father is a huge stoner, and all throughout high school he did not smoke with me, but he knew i smoked, and he would laugh when he walked into my room and say "it smells like sixties". so then i started smoking with him, and it was fine, and now whenever i come home- he usually offers. the house always smells like pot, i can walk in the living room and i'll see him smoking a bowl and watching a movie. at all of the family events, we would all smoke beforehand just to deal with our messed up family. it kind of connects people together.
however, i am very upset because my current boyfriend, who i absolutely love does not smoke weed, and he never did, and he does not understand the whole culture of it, which really bothers me. i dont know what to do, because i feel like the idea of smoking in front of him is awkward, and he will get upset, but i guess he will just have to deal.
Martin Fonseca
Morals, character, values, justice, love are really more important than the fact of who uses what, if humans were to be judged at all they should be judged by attributes like this and not some choice of use; face it, drugs exist and have an use greater than that of recreation. Who are 'you' to judge anyone, and yes marihuana is illegal just as alcohol was illegal, and fellatio was illegal, and there have been so many ridiculous laws all through history, since when goverment is all knowing and full of wisdom. Violence and hatred should be illegal and still are not...
Cymon
Teacher (and drug counselor) 63-yr-old mom here, with a beautiful well-adjusted 28-yr-old son. I "let him know" (as opposed to outright telling him) about my decades-long cannabis use when he was an adolescent. It *never* interfered with my conscientious and devoted parenting -- the experienced mothers here are right: those biological imperatives are unshakable if you are healthy; and even if they weren't, the good herb doesn't get in the way of intelligent thinking unless you are a novice or a jerk to begin with. Like sex ed, info about parents' other adult behaviors aren't to be foisted on kids prematurely. In the right context and environment of good communication, that knowledge is fine. Seems to be the case that kids, who need to strike their independence from parents in some way, *don't* automatically follow our drug habits blindly. My kid, whom I raised to be open and questioning, tried mj with my knowledge in high school but soon decided he wasn't all that interested. (He does drink a lot of beer even though I don't drink, which bothers me more than mj would, and that seems to have something to do with the glamour of the taboo and unfamiliar. Good parenting is based on deeper traits of maturity and commitment, not on lifestyle choices. The important thing is to know yourself and your children and behave accordingly. (I also think those who haven't been in this position don't have the first-hand knowledge to make judgments -- like most things, it depends on the individual.) Namaste -- Cymon. .
Knightmare
...that the people that are most against the use of weed, are often the people that have never tried it and fell for all the DARE propaganda hook, line, and sinker. I've been in a relationship with a non-smoker for nearly five years, all of which I have smoked. Until about a year ago, it was kept secret. She would say things like "I'm so glad you never got into drugs. I just couldn't be with a drug user."
About a year ago, a friend and I were smoking in the living room at about 3:00 am, when she woke up and came down for a drink. It's kind of difficult to deny smoking weed when you're getting caught mid bong rip. It was pretty awkward, and we sat down and talked about it the next day. Her perceptions about pot use were completely skewed, and we were able to set things straight. Now, I hear "Having trouble sleeping, honey? Would a few hits help you sleep?" We even discussed use as a parent, and we came to the conclusion that it would be alright, provided I keep a low profile with neighbors and the like.
The bottom line is this: Don't knock it until you've tried it.
wtf
i found teh comments to this article very unnerving. i also found comments to be the most ph unbalanced ones ive came across
Smith
It's hard to kick it when I don't know who you are. As far as "kicking
ass," I believe that's against the law when it comes to children.
"Getting your ass kicked" would be a better way of putting it. <a href="http://www.drugrehab.net/">narconon vista bay</a>
Anonymous
my father smoked pot my entire life. hes an intelligent, educated, artistic man.. and one i respect highly. hes also my best friend. now that im "of age" we often smoke together and play video games or watch "The Simpsons" (the best show to watch with a good stick of thai). weed has probably strengthened our relationship. also my girlfriend and her mother have the same weed-relationship as we do. its a nice thing to share with a parent. and its just not dangerous. thanks for this article i enjoyed it very much.
Anonymous
classy guy, this neal
Okay, first off, the author of this garbage is a moron.
Paragraph 9: "It never really occurred to me to give it up just because I’d become a parent."
Paragraph 2: the doctor comes over and says, "...you've got to stop
smoking this shit." Author responds, "I know...with the kid around."
i dont agree with the res of what he said, but he has a point. also a lot of people on here our talking about selfishness and the rest are talking about giving things up for their kids. everyone gives things up when their children are born. but theres no reason to think EVERYTHING must change. its definetly an interesting conundrum we have here. in the end though its nobodies decision but the parents. and whether or not the kid ends up dysfunctional (or w/e it is you people are saying COULD happen) i doubt the parents toking is to blame. its probably the state of the world and society in general. think about it.
Zingara
I read about half these comments before rolling my eyes at the nature of some of these arguments for smoking pot.
Claiming
it's not as as bad as drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes is
asinine. How detrimental it is to your health is irrelevant; it
produces negative effects on your health or at least you functioning,
by decreasing your capabilities and making you overall unproductive for
a set time, period. Now put this in perspective: you could be using
that time instead to do something that would increase your functioning
while also relaxing you, such as meditation, yoga, exercising, reading,
etc.
The fact is, you want to set a good example to your kids,
or at least develop a mindset geared towards this. By using your spare
time to do something that not only benefits and relaxes you, but also
contributes towards your good health (whether it be physical,
spiritual, mental, or otherwise), you set a stronger life philosophy
for growth than you would by using pot. This of course is assuming your
kid finds out about your habit or you tell them. If not, then you're
really only wasting your time. But as your kids grow older, bedtimes
don't always stick as consistently as you'd like.
Anonymous
you guys are idiots. weed has basically no negative side effects on people. how does weed negatively effect a child? all you want to do is be home, be happy, eat and be with people you like. ive never heard of a parent beating his child because he smoked a little herb. weed just has a negative cultural bias, but if you look at scientific studies and findings it shows how harmless weed actually is.
Rebecca Walker
jer
Who says we're all gonna have kids?