Women & Weed: A Candid Conversation Part 2 – Motherhood

Welcome back! Hopefully you have read Part 1 in the Women & Weed series and are ready for Part 2 as we discuss Weed & Motherhood!

Women & Weed You’ve entered the next chapter…

Congratulations! You’ve either given birth, adopted, or inherited children and you are now into the thick of motherhood. Aren’t you excited? I mean I know you love the little beings and all of that jazz but sometimes don’t you just want to scream “Who is coming to get these kids?!?!”

Motherhood…

If you are a warm, feely, “my sole purpose in life is to have kids and I love every minute of it”… please exit now. This is NOT the blog for you. Are they gone?!?! Good…. Sis… I see you. I understand you. You love your kids (I hate we always have to preface our disdain for the job some days with that, I mean of course we love our kids) but motherhood is NOT easy and contrary to what people tell you, it does not get “easier” as they get older, its just a different method of parenting that has to happen.

Kids are WORK…period. They are sponges in the world that we are responsible for molding into the best possible version of themselves that they can be. We don’t always get it right, some days our outright impossible and then other days we feel like we need to shout it form the rooftop so that everyone knows… WE KILLED IT!

As mothers, we often pour into others all day that we forget to pour into ourselves and we all know that it’s impossible to pour from an empty cup. When that begins to happen, we become frustrated more easily, our health declines, our happiness wanes and we are just a shell of our former selves. In fact, we begin to mourn our single selves as our lives almost become unrecognizable.

Cannabis vs. Big Pharma…

Well if you’ve gone to therapy, you may have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety. In many of those instances you will be referred to someone who can evaluate you for possible medication such as Zoloft, Prozac, & Cymbalta to name a few. I’m not here to judge anyone choosing to use these medications but to simply ask, why not cannabis?

If you’ve watched any infomercial for prescription drugs or read the pamphlets that come with them there are so many risks associated with a lot of these meds. From webMD, here is what they say about the side effects of Prozac:

“Nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, anxiety, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, tiredness, sweating, or yawning may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor promptly.

Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects. Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.

Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: unusual or severe mental/mood changes (such as agitation, unusual high energy/excitement, thoughts of suicide), easy bruising/bleeding, muscle weakness/spasm, shakiness (tremor), decreased interest in sex, changes in sexual ability, unusual weight loss”

So, wait… I am depressed and anxious and after taking this medication I may be MORE anxious, I may have the shakes, no sex drive, possible moody and now have suicidal thoughts?!?! Give me cannabis for $500 Alex!

Cannabis vs Wine…

Wine has replaced jewelry, shoes and handbags as a girl’s best friend. We have wine bars, wine drinking clubs & even wine tasting events. It’s so socially acceptable that we don’t even think anything of it. And let me be clear I LOVE wine myself! I definitely consider myself an avid wine drinker.

However, once upon a time it was illegal to manufacture, sale and transport alcohol. It was never illegal to consume it though. (of course if it was illegal to purchase it or manufacture it, that made it difficult to find it to consume… I digress). When the government realized that they could tax it and make a killing off of it, prohibition was reversed. To be noted, alcohol related deaths are about 88,000 annually and the ailments that can be traced to its excessive consumption include cancers of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, liver, breast as well as liver disease in general.

I know some will say that there are side effects to cannabis too. See, comparing black market cannabis to what is now available in legal markets is society’s first mistake. I mean let’s be honest where was the quality control during prohibition? Do we think that the moonshiners in the backwoods of BFE were ensuring everything was done “up to code”? (hopefully you can hear my sarcasm in that question) I digress. Products that you buy from a licensed dispensary or from someone who is growing and producing clean cannabis products, is unmatched in its positive effects.

Consuming cannabis as opposed to alcohol or in some cases in conjunction with a light drink has gotten many mothers through the ebb and flow of motherhood…Unapologetically. (I am many mothers)

Cannabis… marijuana or hemp?

Society thinks a cannamom is “high” all day but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, there are many moms who enjoy marijuana with higher amounts of THC but even then, they aren’t smoking and sleeping all day. We are MOMS, who has time for that?

A huge misconception is that all strains of marijuana will make you sleepy or unable to function as a rational human being. In reality there is a wide range of marijuana strains that can aid in your everyday life. When think about wine, if you’re a red drinker you may alternate between a Merlot and a nice Cabernet; depending on your day & mood.

Those same choices can be made with your cannabis too. The key to picking the right strain for you isn’t as much about picking Sativa vs. Indica (or dominant hybrid between the two); it’s more about the genetic profile of the strain and the level and combination of cannabinoids, THC & CBD being the two most common, in that particular strain. From Leafly: THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) makes us feel hungry and high, and relieves symptoms like pain, nausea, and more .CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-intoxicating compound known to alleviate anxiety, pain, inflammation, and many other medical ailments.

More and more moms are going with a lower THC but higher CBD concentration to help them quell anxiety and induce more relaxation to manage the “joys” of motherhood.

A more popular trend currently are hemp CBD products. With the legalization of hemp sales in all 50 states, CBD products are on the rise but not all CBD is created equally. The Hemp CBD I am talking about is not your local gas station variety, instead it’s produced &/or sold by reputable, licensed businesses with test results to boot.

Some of my favorite companies that carry or are their own producers of quality hemp CBD include:

& of course, my company, ReLeaf Health

Truth moment: While I still very much enjoy the occasional marijuana moment, especially when I am on vacation for my everyday life, I lean more towards hemp CBD products. They tend to keep me relaxed and focused on all the demanding tasks of being a woman and mother. The truth is, after I had my last child, my tolerance level changed and I had to adjust my intake accordingly. The beauty of being a cannamom is there is such a wide variety of products that will help us facilitate this journey of motherhood & womanhood.

Bottom Line…

As women and specifically as moms, we all have our ways of coping with the many nuances that comes with balancing and centering ourselves so that we are whole and happy individuals for the little humans we get to call our children. There should be no more shame associated with indulging in something that is from the Earth & with minimum processing or modification, exposes us to limitless benefits. The bonus to consuming cannabis is that there are many ways to consume including smoking in joints/blunts, vaping, ingesting (edibles, drinks), tinctures and much more.

Indulging in cannabis can be just as cost effective as your favorite bottle of wine. Cannabis will most definitely last you longer. In my store you can get a $3 pre-roll or an 1/8 of premium flower for only $20. We also carry products on the high end as well, something for everyone! Trust me, this is not draining America’s pockets like many people believe. Definitely not more than what the tobacco & alcohol industries have accrued from the population over the last 60 years.

As one of my favorite cannamom’s said “.. I definitely agree we gotta unpack the stigma! Moms have been using cannabis for centuries, it really helped me with nausea and then depression. Now its a catch all – keeps me sane and moving forward” – @alannajoymccreary

So, for every mom that has been shamed for consuming, indulge in the ganja for me tonight. Let’s all cheers to being freed from the shame and proudly exclaim, I’M A CANNAMOM!

Love & Light,

Mommi Trese, Unapologetically

Founder of ReLeaf Health

Disclaimer: All sources are sited through links. Anything not cited is an opinion, my opinion, and not supported by the FDA or representative of any platform that chooses to repost or use. Please do your due diligence and contact your physician with any additional questions or concerns