Despite it being legal, stigma around cannabis 鈥� and those who use it 鈥� certainly aren鈥檛 going anywhere anytime soon. But one B.C. woman is hoping she can change the negative perceptions of weed-smoking moms, one website view at a time.
Shannon Chiarenza, a Vancouver mom of two, said she started to act as a guide for newcomers to legal cannabis, specifically mothers who are interested in ditching the merlot for the versatile plant.
鈥淢y background is website design, but I鈥檝e been a stay at home mom now for a few years,鈥� she told Black Press Media. While living in the Kitsilano-Point Grey area, she said as a cannabis-user herself, she noticed quickly that other mothers seemed to be comfortable drinking wine, but smoking up was left for the dads.
鈥淚 never really figured out why 鈥� but then I felt it myself, as a mom 鈥� feeling that as a mother you have to hold up a higher standard than even dads, for some reason,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not really a spoken thing, it鈥檚 a felt thing. It鈥檚 something we have in our own heads, in our own consciousness.鈥�
Chiarenza herself admitted that she oftentimes hid her cannabis use from other parents at her children鈥檚 school to avoid criticism or judgment.
鈥淵ou do kind of feel like you鈥檙e the bad mom,鈥� she said. She quickly realized she wasn鈥檛 alone, as she connected with other moms and kicked off her Weed Mama project on social media.
鈥淭hey hide it. They were embarrassed and they didn鈥檛 want to tell anyone and they had to hide it in shame. So I realized there was definitely a market or place for this kind of a thing where women can feel accepted for what they do and find other moms who do the same thing.鈥�
Ironically, it was motherhood that reintroduced Chiarenza to cannabis.
鈥淚 had a very traumatizing birth with my son, and my first pregnancy was painful, too, and it left me with a lot of pain鈥� she said.
w.soundcloud.com
After a six year hiatus, at the age of 41, Chiarenza decided to try vaping with her husband.
Despite being worried at first that it would trigger her anxiety, 鈥渋t made me relax, but it took all the pain away,鈥� she said.
From the basics like how to purchase pot to what it does to your body, as well as how it can help stomach pains or the top three 鈥渁hhhmazing ways to experience cannabis,鈥� Chiarenza said she鈥檚 hoping her website she can educate people on safe use but also the positive culture.
There鈥檚 also a special section dedicated to cannabis鈥� benefits for women.
鈥淔or me, at least, this is one of the biggest areas that cannabis can help woman 鈥� for painful sex and menstruation and pain that comes after child birth 鈥� it can really help reduce that,鈥� she said.
As Canada enters a new age of legal cannabis, Chiarenza said the culture will hopefully move away from negative connotations for those looking to take part, especially for moms.
鈥淵ou can find things that are very sophisticated 鈥� there are connoisseurs鈥� it鈥檚 not just this one-sided thing,鈥� she said, pointing to those who use it as soft-medical relief for pain and other symptoms.
Since launching her website, Chiarenza said she鈥檚 received both support and concern, including one person who asked her if she thinks it鈥檚 wise to be be doing this as a mother and questioning her responsibility.
鈥淭his is exactly why a lot of moms don鈥檛 talk about using cannabis, because people still have this old-fashioned ideas about what it is, and modern cannabis is so much more than that and there is a lot of good science coming out about it now. My goal is to educate people so moms don鈥檛 feel that anymore, they can feel like they鈥檙e a good mom and can also do cannabis to unwind.鈥�
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
Like us on and follow us on .
