Disclaimer: The article below is one personal experience involving pregnancy and cannabis. It does not constitute legal or professional medical advice. Due to the lack of scientific research on cannabis and its effects on human health, we believe that sharing personal stories and experiences is a great way to make space for new conversations, properly de-stigmatize cannabis use, and encourage others to make individual decisions that are right for their bodies. We’re not politicians – we respect and support your autonomy.
I used marijuana during my pregnancy. It wasn’t initially planned – the marijuana use, not the pregnancy. The pregnancy was super duper planned. I had an entire preconception outline that started 10 months before I wanted us to even start trying. My plan included everything from getting our finances in order to womb massages to therapy. I’m a planner and a researcher living a hippie lifestyle. I don’t just put anything into or on my body without proper investigation, so to smoke during my pregnancy was a conscious choice.
A little background: I’ve been smoking weed since middle school. Me and MJ’s relationship has had various stages of growth and companionship. From the gate, I tried it because my “cool” friend from California came to visit and was smoking… out of a toilet paper roll. Then I used it to escape life, to not give a fuck about homework or rules, the classic TV teen archetype. I wised up in college and decided to use weed as a reward system. I could smoke after I finished my work. Junior year I met my stoner soulmate who opened my eyes to the philosophy of “everything is just better when you’re high” and I became a productive pothead. It was right around that same time though that I had my first panic attack on the side of Interstate 95 in Virginia. Thinking it was a heart attack, I called 911 and ended up in the emergency room. Anxiety and panic attacks were an ongoing part of my life for a long time. They still are, but they are very rare now and I know it’s because of the healing properties of medical marijuana.
Skipping ahead to post-grad life, I moved to California and it didn’t take long for me to discover that there is a science behind weed AKA medical marijuana AKA no more dirt ass weed for me, no seeds, no stems! I ingested this knowledge and learned how it can actually help with ADD, anxiety and panic attacks and I found the right strands to do that for me, Jack Herer and Green Crack. Weed grounds me, it enhances my creativity, and it’s a part of my daily spiritual practice. My favorite time to smoke is in the AM before yoga and meditation, I feel so connected.
Back to getting pregs. I had planned to mardi gras it up all summer and then cut out the vices in August, a few months before we wanted to conceive. According to my preconception list, August was also the same time I wanted to start healing my womb. I had some shit to clear out before inviting a baby to make its home in there. I found Marcia, a Shamanistic womb masseuse and healer, and began three months of work with her – abdominal massages, ceremonies, meditations, and yoni steams. I had decided that I would stop psychedelics and drinking but I was on the fence about weed and wanted Marcia’s intuitive feelings on the subject. She advised me to stop smoking for the period between my next cycle and conception but that once I got pregnant, she felt I could resume. She knew I wasn’t blazing blunts and being irresponsible, but that I used weed for spiritual purposes and mental health. (Just to be clear, her advice was from a spiritual standpoint, not a medical one.)
I trusted her, but I also wanted some science-based evidence on using weed while pregnant. Guess what?!? There isn’t any! Okay, there were like one or two articles, but not any with actual factual in-depth study and information. Personally, I knew that my sister in law chiefed during both of her pregnancies and her kids came out smart, healthy and hella chill. If I’m being completely honest though, I judged her so hard for smoking while she was pregnant 9 years ago. My bad, I totally get it now. But I still needed some concrete scientific evidence.
The only article I found at the time referenced a study done in Jamaica in the 1960s by an American named Melanie Dreher. When Dreher’s assessment did not support the negative narrative that her sponsor (National Institute on Drug Abuse) circulated, she lost all of her funding and was told not to reapply. WTF, right?! Reading that reminded me that I’ve been to Jamaica and that ganja really is a way of life there. There are probably a ton of Jamaican mothers who smoke, drink teas or tonics during pregnancy for spiritual purposes, to alleviate nausea and help with stress… pregnancy can be stressful sometimes. Emotions, y’all!
After meditating on the inner weed debate myself, I decided I wasn’t going to make any hard and fast decision on whether to smoke pot or not. Instead, I would see how I felt on any given day and if I felt I wanted to, I would choose to vape or use my ceramic one-hitter.
I got knocked up in December 2016. I did end up feeling like smoking throughout my pregnancy for all the reasons I smoked before I was pregnant. I needed to, sometimes for motivation, sometimes for meditation and definitely to combat anxiety. I didn’t smoke every day, but I definitely smoked a couple times a week. It felt right to space it out, maybe a little bit because I still had society’s ongoing false beliefs in my conscience. The subsequent stigma led me to not feel comfortable sharing with most people that I was SWP, smoking while pregnant. I can count the number of people on one hand that knew I was getting high. A stoner mom friend of mine judged me and refused to share her weed with me during a dry spell, saying she didn’t feel comfortable giving a pregnant woman weed. So I kept the smoking way lowkey, mostly at home, mostly solo and I had an enjoyable, panic-free, spiritually attuned, healthy pregnancy.
My perfect vegan-fed little sun was born 9lbs 2oz in a purple plastic pool in the middle of my colorful bohemian living room. I, of course, had planned out my labor (hahahah) and had my weed ready for go-time in the bathroom. When my midwife came, I forgot to put my bowl away. Initially, I had an “oh shit” moment until she made a joke about it and shared that about 70% of her clients also smoke weed. I’m happy she shared that with me, it’s good to know that us weed mamas are out here, that we’re not alone and that we’re having healthy pregnancies and babies.
During postpartum, I discovered that VICE had done a series called Weediquette. One of the episodes was about weed and high-risk pregnancies, I cried as I watched these women bravely share their own stories and fears about being weed smokers. Most pregnant women’s fears were about being punished or ostracized. I’m not gonna lie, as much as I want to share my experience, I was definitely a little nervous at first about writing this post for public consumption. Weed is still not legal forreal forreal, and there’s still such a stigma surrounding pot use in general. I’m glad to be a part of the conversation on moms and marijuana use. The future of flower is female, and moms are on the forefront.
– xOx