Despite it being legal, stigma around cannabis sa国际传媒� and those who use it sa国际传媒� certainly arensa国际传媒檛 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.
sa国际传媒淢y background is website design, but Isa国际传媒檝e been a stay at home mom now for a few years,sa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淚 never really figured out why sa国际传媒� but then I felt it myself, as a mom sa国际传媒� feeling that as a mother you have to hold up a higher standard than even dads, for some reason,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not really a spoken thing, itsa国际传媒檚 a felt thing. Itsa国际传媒檚 something we have in our own heads, in our own consciousness.sa国际传媒�
Chiarenza herself admitted that she oftentimes hid her cannabis use from other parents at her childrensa国际传媒檚 school to avoid criticism or judgment.
sa国际传媒淵ou do kind of feel like yousa国际传媒檙e the bad mom,sa国际传媒� she said. She quickly realized she wasnsa国际传媒檛 alone, as she connected with other moms and kicked off her Weed Mama project on social media.
sa国际传媒淭hey hide it. They were embarrassed and they didnsa国际传媒檛 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.sa国际传媒�
Ironically, it was motherhood that reintroduced Chiarenza to cannabis.
sa国际传媒淚 had a very traumatizing birth with my son, and my first pregnancy was painful, too, and it left me with a lot of painsa国际传媒� 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, sa国际传媒渋t made me relax, but it took all the pain away,sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒渁hhhmazing ways to experience cannabis,sa国际传媒� Chiarenza said shesa国际传媒檚 hoping her website she can educate people on safe use but also the positive culture.
Theresa国际传媒檚 also a special section dedicated to cannabissa国际传媒� benefits for women.
sa国际传媒淔or me, at least, this is one of the biggest areas that cannabis can help woman sa国际传媒� for painful sex and menstruation and pain that comes after child birth sa国际传媒� it can really help reduce that,sa国际传媒� 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.
sa国际传媒淵ou can find things that are very sophisticated sa国际传媒� there are connoisseurssa国际传媒� itsa国际传媒檚 not just this one-sided thing,sa国际传媒� she said, pointing to those who use it as soft-medical relief for pain and other symptoms.
Since launching her website, Chiarenza said shesa国际传媒檚 received both support and concern, including one person who asked her if she thinks itsa国际传媒檚 wise to be be doing this as a mother and questioning her responsibility.
sa国际传媒淭his is exactly why a lot of moms donsa国际传媒檛 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 donsa国际传媒檛 feel that anymore, they can feel like theysa国际传媒檙e a good mom and can also do cannabis to unwind.sa国际传媒�
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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