Pot for Parents

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Pete

An outstanding piece in the New York Times… human and honest.

How Pot Helps Parenting by Mark Wolfe.

But the best part is an amazing off-label benefit I call Parental Attention Surplus Syndrome. […]

I swear I am a more loving, attentive and patient father when I take my medication as prescribed. Perhaps this isn’t surprising. As anyone who inhaled during college can attest, cannabis enhances the ability to perceive beauty, complexity and novelty in otherwise mundane things (grout patterns in your bathroom floor, the Grateful Dead, Doritos), while simultaneously locking you into a prolonged state of rapt attention. You not only notice the subtle color variations in your cat’s fur, you stare at them in loving awe for 20 solid minutes.

I submit that this can be enormously salutary to the parent-toddler relationship. Beyond food, shelter and clothing, what do small children need most from their parents? Sustained, loving, participatory attention. Thank you, Doctor.

The family that giggles together, loves together.

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9 Responses to Pot for Parents

  1. allan says:
    September 10, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    tis true… when my kids were infants I had a job where I worked my ass off. I’d come home all tuckered out. A couple of hits on the pipe and I’d go sit on the floor and have a blast with my babies, just as this fellow describes. And I know that scenario is far more common than rare. (and makes the taking away of parents from their kids for pot that much more insane)

    My daughter, when she was about 7, was one of the youngest visitors ever to participate in a DrugSense chat, somebody back east (KY maybe?) had a daughter on their lap and we let them talk… I’ve always smoked herb around my kids – I just made it a point to never smoke in front of them. Which is where the phrase “hey you kids, turn around” came from…

    Now that they’re young adults they don’t have to turn around, especially if they don’t want the pipe to pass them by!

    • Maria says:
      September 11, 2012 at 1:35 pm

      I logically and rationally know that the plural of anecdote is not data.

      It’s just so hard not to come to conclusions when looking around at my friends and neighbors and at how people in my family are doing. It’s hard not to note that the serious problems we have rarely come from within. Oh, there’s all sorts of personal issues, health problems, emotional complexity, relationship problems, bad ideas, stupid mistakes, money stress and all the other day to day that everyone has to deal with.

      But often the bad shit, the really bad shit, comes from without in the form of authority directed threats or authority sanctioned threats (most crime it seems) all against life, property, freedom, or an ability to make a living.

      I know that the plural of anecdote isn’t data but it sure seems to be life.

  2. claygooding says:
    September 11, 2012 at 5:39 am

    I like kids,,if they are cooked right.

  3. Irie says:
    September 11, 2012 at 6:22 am

    get a load of this article, and I find it to be very true, sohttp://www.tokeofthetown.com/2012/09/elliott_recommends_pregnant_mothers_smoke_marijuan.php . To all you pathetic Prohibitioners, bite me!

  4. Francis says:
    September 11, 2012 at 7:27 am

    Of course cannabis makes you a better parent. After all, the drug warriors make the exact opposite claim. This is Francis’ Law 101.

  5. Duncan20903 says:
    September 11, 2012 at 8:32 am

    .
    .

    This one is from the “surprise, surprise, surprise” category:

    Children’s Alliance endorses marijuana legalization initiative
    by Jonathan Martin

    The marijuana legalization initiative on the fall ballot got an unexpected vote of confidence Monday from a prominent child-advocacy group and an expected vote of disapproval from a group of substance-abuse providers.

    The Children’s Alliance, a Seattle nonprofit whose members include major social services agencies, endorsed Initiative 502 in an effort to address the racially disproportionate impacts of current marijuana laws, said Jon Gould, the Alliance’s deputy director.

    Marijuana usage is similar between whites and African-Americans, but blacks are three times as likely to be arrested, charged and convicted of marijuana-related crimes, said Gould. Children “end up paying a terrible price for the disproportionate enforcement” when their parents’ criminal records hinder their ability to get jobs, public housing or federal student aid, such as Pell grants, he said.

    “The status quo is not working for children, particularly children of color. Public policy ought to move us further toward racial equity and justice, and Initiative 502 is one step forward to that,” said Gould.
    /snip/

    Fare thee well Titanic, fare thee well.

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    September 15, 2012 at 2:50 pm

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