According to CNN, statistics show that women have passed men when it comes marijuana use, but some say the stigma of smoking cannabis still remains, especially for moms.Reporters with CNN spoke to a group of moms from Missouri who are working to change how people view marijuana use.
“Cannamom game night is just basically a night out with your besties, away from the kids. You’re meeting new friends. You’re going to be gifted some joints, you’re going to play some games, and you’re just going to live your best kid-free life for a couple of hours,” Cannamoms co-founder Kimberlee Kesterson told CNN.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
Recreational marijuana use in Missouri was legalized in late 2022. Kesterson told CNN that every few months, mothers from the community come together to consume.
“It gets me out of the house. The women here are all very accepting,” Cannamoms member Jamie Cerda told CNN when asked what was so special about being together with other moms.
“You put marijuana and a mom together, it doesn’t really go together,” Shaunda Crawford, another Cannamoms member, told CNN. “Moms are supposed to do everything. They’re supposed to be a picture perfect person.”
“You’re held to a certain standard,” Asia White, another attendee at the event, added when speaking to the network.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
Attendee Dara Salmiere told CNN that mothers who smoke weed “should be just as acceptable as moms who drink wine.”
“I never in the world understand how marijuana was illegal for so long and alcohol was legal when alcohol has literally killed and destroyed so many people in my family’s lives,” Jamie Cerda said when speaking to the network.
Founders Kesterson and Jessica Carroll told CNN that they founded the group to help mothers like themselves and to support each other.
Kesterson said that they’ve “created community, a space where women come together. They laugh.”
“If you’re any parent like me, you put your children first. So to be able to step away and give yourself some time and do some self-care, it’s hard to do,” Carroll told CNN.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
Carroll told CNN that many of the women say their children know they consume marijuana and believe cannabis helps them be better moms.
“They see that I’m not doing it to ‘party.’ I’m doing it to relax. As far as motherhood, it helps me be able to calm down and handle the situation at hand,” Cerda told the network.
“I normally do it in the nighttime, right after I get my kids to sleep,” White told CNN. “It’s time for me to relax. I got through the day. Kind of like replenish myself. I water myself like a plant. (laughs)”
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
Despite more states moving to legalize marijuana, it still remains illegal at the federal level. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that cannabis may have “a wide range of health effects on the body and brain,” and cautions against smoking a driving.
According to CNN, for the “cannamoms,” it’s about more than just getting high. The St. Louis Cannamoms, one of dozens of similar Facebook groups around the country, provides donations to mothers in need.
“Not just me, my kids. I don’t know where we would be without them. They’re my family,” Cannamom member Bre’ Aunna Knutson told CNN.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
“Being a mom is hard,” Kesterson said. “There’s so many expectations on you. We feel like we have to be perfect. We feel shame around our blow ups and having a hard day. I think it’s super important that it’s we’re able to see that there are so many other moms that go through the same struggles.”
Reporters with CNN asked Kesterson if she felt like cannabis was a “tool” for her parenting.
“Oh yeah. For sure. I think it definitely helps me stay patient. I actually want to sit down and do stuff with my kids instead of sit and scroll on my phone all day,” Kesterson told the network.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
When asked if she received any backlash for smoking cannabis, Kesterson said she has.
“Just, you know, you’re a bad mom. You shouldn’t have your kid because you smoke,” she told CNN’s reporters.
(CNN/CNN Newsource)
