Cannamama Chats with Paula

We asked the Mamas on our team to answer a couple of questions for us about the ways they navigate cannabis and motherhood. It has always felt to me like a balm to hear other women’s experiences integrating cannabis and motherhood, so I hoped that sharing ours might feel like that for some of you.

Paula, one of our incredible budtenders, was kind enough to share with us some of her thoughts on being a mom who smokes weed. Paula is right in the throes of toddler-hood with her daughter Wynter and very much still navigating her ambivalent feelings around cannabis consumption and being the mom she wants to be. We love having these kinds of conversations at work as we all attempt to untangle the years of messaging we’ve all been exposed to about weed and motherhood.

How has motherhood changed your relationship with cannabis?

With so many stigmas around motherhood and cannabis, it was hard navigating. If I did smoke, mom-guilt consumed me. If I didn't smoke, I felt like I couldn't connect, or get the 'appropriate' amount of chores done throughout the day. So for the majority of my pregnancy and right after my daughter was born, I didn't consume at all. I definitely have felt much more negative reactions as a mom who smokes weed vs. a mom who likes her “mom juice” (when, really, doing either, neither, or both is totally fine!) Getting hired here at P+L, being surrounded by not only other moms but amazing women and men in this industry, has made it much easier to embrace motherhood with a well-lit joint. 

How has cannabis impacted your experience of motherhood?

Cannabis has definitely helped me learn how to raise a tiny human. You can try to prepare all you want with parenting classes but actually having one and raising one is a whole other ball game. Smoking gave motivation on sleepless nights up with baby, helped mellow me out on the tantrum-filled days, and makes playing pretend or Cocomelon marathons much more fun. 

Thank you so much, Paula, for your candidness and wisdom, and thank you for reading.