Parents that use marijuana are not more ‘chill’ about discipline, a new study finds.
Despite the classic portrayal of ‘stoners’ and stoner parents as the ultimate laid back, permissive types, that isn’t how they tend to behave in real life, according to a study carried out by Ohio State University and the University of Kansas.
Weed smokers and drinkers were more likely to use any form of discipline more immediately than parents who don’t use either substance.
Marijuana seemed to make parents more aggressive in their reprimands, however, as those who used marijuana and drank were 50 percent more likely to be physically abusive to their children than those who only drank.
Physically punishing and abusing children is 50% more common among parents that smoke weed – most of whom also drink – than among those who abstain, a new study finds
With medical marijuana now legal in 33 states, and recreational use allowed in 11 states, more people are becoming more public about their use of the drug.
It’s not just for surfers, slackers and musicians any more, and many parents are already picking up pot, and admitting it.
By 2015, nearly seven percent of American parents over 18 said they toke up, a significant increase from the five percent who did in 2002.
Actress Kristen Bell made waves in 2018 when she revealed that she’s among them, and likes to partake in a little marijuana after her kids are tucked in for the night.
She’s hardly the only mother to do so.
Kaycee Lei Cuesta started a blog, called The Cannavist Mom, because she believes ‘mommy needs a joint should be just as socially acceptable as mommy needs a glass of wine.’
She writes that using weed makes her a better, more creative and productive mother, as well as treating her migraines.
There are plenty of anecdotes like Kaycee’s online.
Scientific research and writing on weed, its affects on parents and the effects of a parent’s cannabis use are a very mixed.
A 2011 study found, exactly as Kaycee had, the cannabis helped parents stay creative, encouraging and engaging with their children’s creativity, too.
The number of parents smoking pot, and doing it around their children, has gone up, and research suggests their children are more like to be weed smokers too.
And another study linked parents use of marijuana to a higher risk of psychotic episodes – in their children.
And for better or worse, the latest research, published in the Journal of Social Work, found that pot-smoking parents aren’t more lax or chill when it comes to disciplining their children.
In fact, the survey of over 3,000 California parents found that moms and dads that smoke pot are more hairpin-triggered when it comes to reprimanding and disciplining their children, whether that’s done verbally, or through spanking or even worse.
The vast majority – about 92 percent – of parents that partook in marijuana also drank, and this group was the least ‘chill’ about their kids’ behavior.
Discipline came often, in swift and diverse forms from these parents.
The risk that a parent would become physically abusive was 50 percent higher if they smoked pot and drank and the more substances parents used, the more abusive they might be.
Physical abuse was 1.45 times more common among parents that used the greatest number of substances than those who used just one.
‘It appears that users may be quicker than other parents to react to minor misbehavior,’ said Dr Bridget Freisthler, a OSU social work professor and study co-author.
‘We can’t tell from this study, but it may be that parents who use marijuana or alcohol don’t want their children to spoil the buzz they have, or bother them when they have a hangover.’
Overall, Dr Freisthler simply cautions that it’s important to be aware the weed will still affect you actions and mood.
‘Marijuana use is not risk-free,’ she warned.
‘It affects a lot of behaviors, including parenting.’