“Tell your children the truth,” Bob Marley
A Conversation About Cannabis & Kids
Navigating the world of being a cannabis consumer, especially in front of your children, can be confusing.
As more states decriminalize and legalize, we must speak openly about plant medicine to normalize the conversation and destigmatize the utilization of cannabis, psychedelics, entheogens, and holistic plant medicine – for physical or mental health.
As the co-author of several family educational resource books on plant medicine, I truly believe we can teach the next generation to medicate responsibly.
I co-wrote 3 books designed to be family educational resources. Our first book, Callie Cannabis, came out in 2014 after Colorado implemented Amendment 64. In 2018, we went to print with Hana Hemp after the Farm Bill was passed. Sidelined, published in 2019, documents one family’s struggle and explains how medical refugees must move to a legalized state to receive access to cannabis for their children or loved ones.
If we can teach our children not to touch a hot stove or talk to strangers, we can also teach them about plant medicine. We should be able to have an honest conversation without being worried about Child Protective Services stepping in.
Parental Concerns Around Cannabis
As a parent, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenges of raising your family and keeping up with the pace of modern life. Since a child’s first experiences take place in the home, what they learn there provides a foundation of knowledge – and then becomes their basis for comparison as they move out into the world.
Even if we may not feel that we are qualified to teach, we can plant the seeds that will give them a basic understanding of the power that lies within them. Regardless of whether it is medical or adult use, we can teach them about plant medicine. We can tell them about the history of people using plants long before there were pharmacies on every corner. We as parents can responsibly store our cannabis and other plant medicines, so our pets and toddlers don’t accidentally ingest something we bring into our homes.
Teaching them to listen to their intuition and to do what works best for their bodies is key. That pertains to medicine, sports, food, conversations, play, or anything they bring into their life. I tried to impart to my own children that what helps some people can harm others. I teach that they need to be responsible for what they put in them, on them, and around them.
Since cannabis was still illegal while my (now adult) children were growing up, I did not consume in front of them. However, I did tell them that I understood they would most likely experience peer pressure, and that I considered cannabis and psilocybin to be safer than alcohol, pills, or other substances. I tried to teach them to be safe – without making them afraid of the world.
Teach the Children About It All
I listened carefully to anything my children wanted to tell me. I knew that if I didn’t listen to the small stuff when they were little, they wouldn’t tell me the big stuff later. This included some uncomfortable conversations, yet they were not afraid I would belittle them, and we learned from each other.
We all become the books (and great magazines like Fat Nugs) we read, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the people we spend time with, and the conversations we engage in. It is important to teach our kids to be mindful of what they put into their bodies emotionally, spiritually, and physically, as well as what they feed their minds.
If we don’t trust them to make good decisions, if we over-regulate them – saying no to them using our power tools or pocketknives, because they might damage the house or hurt themselves – we take their will to be creative and self-sufficient right out of them.
Additionally, if we parrot the “Just Say No” and “This is your brain on drugs” scare tactics I grew up with, and expect them not to experiment, they may end up in situations with substances that could have lasting and dire consequences.
It is a struggle to guide our children effectively in today’s world, where our technologies hold so much promise for connection yet are causing so many of our youth to feel increasingly disconnected from those they care about most.
Our children are listening to and getting their information from social media, musicians, ‘influencers,’ and their friends. Don’t let these be the only source of their education about plant medicine.
Please know you cannot force children to hear a message they are not ready to receive, yet do not underestimate the power of planting a seed, and the truth.
I firmly believe that children who are spoken to honestly about plant medicines will have a better understanding of how these and other medications can affect their brain development. As states expand decriminalization of these current Schedule I substances, we must educate all generations, especially our children.
