{"id":56840,"date":"2022-08-25T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/08\/25\/study-cannabis-is-good-for-kids-and-parents\/"},"modified":"2022-08-25T20:45:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T04:45:25","slug":"study-cannabis-is-good-for-kids-and-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/08\/25\/study-cannabis-is-good-for-kids-and-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Cannabis Is Good for Kids\u2013and Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Paranoia is widespread for cannabis users with children. This fear is logical, and has nothing to do with the drug\u2019s effects per se. Horror stories about hospitals, neighbors or ex-spouses diming out a parent who uses pot to child-protective services\u2014who then remove the child from parental custody\u2014are widespread and common. Many pregnant women have also been hesitant to disclose their cannabis use with healthcare providers, for fear of being referred to child-protective services or law enforcement\u2014an attitude prevalent enough to be\u00a0documented<\/a>\u00a0in a major study last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It turns out there\u2019s a simple and popular policy intervention that eliminates this risk and underlying anxiety, while also improving child welfare outcomes: legalizing recreational marijuana.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As research from two University of Mississippi economists published earlier this year\u00a0found<\/a>, recreational marijuana legalization reduces all foster-care referrals by at least 10%, with greater reductions in years after. The findings suggest \u201clegalization may have important consequences for child welfare\u201d beyond the decriminalization of their parents\u2019 behavior, the authors wrote\u2014and that the impact of legalization on society is profound.<\/p>\n

The Truth of \u201cConsequences\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Legalization\u2019s effects on the foster-care system are twofold, the study found. Yes, parents who use cannabis are less likely to lose custody for their children because they\u2019re incarcerated. And while these findings also support the \u201csubstitution\u201d contention\u2014that cannabis legalization discourages the use of other more deleterious substances like alcohol\u2014the researchers also found fewer referrals for seemingly unrelated causes, including physical abuse and neglect. This is evidence to suggest that legalization somehow makes parents better parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to remember that we\u2019re not really writing about the consequences of marijuana use, so much as the consequences on the users\u2019 children,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0John Gardner, an economics professor at Ole Miss, who co-authored the paper with\u00a0doctoral candidate Bright Osei.\u00a0\u201cIt looks like there\u2019s something going on when parents can use marijuana recreationally: They end up engaging in less physical abuse, less neglectful parenting, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add in the knowledge that the act of entering foster care itself can be traumatic to a child (and their family), and what you\u2019re left with is a simple suggestion:\u00a0Marijuana legalization is good for children and their families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we see is, it looks like [legalization] is beneficial to kids,\u201d Gardner added in an interview. \u201cHaving this option available for adults has spill-over benefits for children.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it goes further. Foster care is expensive.\u00a0\u00a0A 10% reduction nationwide in foster-care placements would save $675 million a year, the researchers noted. Cost savings would be good for everyone else, too. So this study suggests that on top of the cost savings associated with law enforcement and the courts, cannabis legalization saves the government even more money, all while boosting early-childhood outcomes.<\/p>\n

More Proof Youth Are Alright<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The researchers looked at foster-care admissions data from ten states over the past two decades as well as Census data for demographic information.\u00a0\u00a0They found that foster-care entries declined in the months immediately preceding a law taking effect\u2014suggesting that law enforcement and other agencies alter policies in anticipation, but they also found that the decreases continued after legalization, in some cases in excess of ten percent.<\/p>\n

The researchers cautioned that it\u2019s not entirely clear whether the decline is because parents are using safer drugs or simply able to better function, but anecdotal evidence suggests it could be both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But since foster-care placements went down to such a degree, at the least, the findings are yet another sign that anti-legalization campaigners\u2019 frequent claims that legalization is harmful to youth are specious at best. Repeated insistence that legalization would lead to a spike in youth cannabis use\u00a0have never been borne out by data<\/a>. And these most recent findings suggest that children whose lives are not directly touched by cannabis may also be improved.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Real-life anecdotes support the study\u2019s findings and go one further: eroding the pervasive stigma surrounding responsible cannabis use and responsible parenting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Stigma Is Completely Wrong\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Sean Maedler is the father of\u00a0Rylie Maedler<\/a>, a Delaware teen who started taking cannabis oil medicinally to treat seizures and tumors at the age of 7. Rylie\u2019s ordeal and her\u00a0activism<\/a>\u00a0helped change state law to allow children medical cannabis access. But cannabis also improved her dad\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A former alcohol abuser, Sean was discouraged from using cannabis by Alcoholic Anonymous, but wasn\u2019t enjoying the side effects of the medications he was prescribed. And, lo: Cannabis reduced his anxiety and tension. Sean was a better person and parent. By this logic, cannabis\u00a0\u00a0improved her husband\u2019s parenting, according to Janie Maedler, Rylie\u2019s mother and the managing partner of the Rylie\u2019s Smile Foundation, which advocates for similar changes in law in other states across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter he stopped drinking, he was angry,\u201d Janie said. \u201cWhen we finally got him to try it, it was like an a-ha moment\u2014he was a totally different person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Janie is also familiar with the risk of foster care in any situation. A nephew recently left his parents to live with a grandmother. But even in the care of a loving relative, her nephew became quiet and withdrawn. How much worse off would he be in the care of complete strangers, no matter how well intentioned?<\/p>\n

The study also gives the lie to some long-standing behavioral mores that still affect parents and parenting. Culture is replete with positive references to alcohol as a parental tonic. While alcohol companies\u00a0market<\/a>\u00a0drinky white wine as \u201cMommy juice,\u201d parents who use cannabis\u00a0have to deal with anonymous CPS reports<\/a>\u00a0filed by teachers, neighbors or strangers who simply don\u2019t like the plant\u2019s smell. If cannabis is used responsibly, and the parental duties are met, what is the problem?<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is intense stigma\u201d against parental cannabis use, Janie Maedler notes. \u201cAnd the stigma is completely wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Study: Cannabis Is Good for Kids\u2013and Parents<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Study: Cannabis Is Good for Kids\u2013and Parents<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paranoia is widespread for cannabis users with children. This fear is logical, and has nothing to do with the drug\u2019s effects per se. Horror stories about hospitals, neighbors or ex-spouses diming out a parent who uses pot to child-protective services\u2014who then remove the child from parental custody\u2014are widespread and common.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16417,50,9873,99,16418,16419,16420,65,417,3602,16421,16422],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56840"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56841,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56840\/revisions\/56841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}