By Allison Foster
Becoming a mother is something I honestly never saw for my future. While I’ve been an avid marijuana smoker since I was 18 and am now 31 years old, I always envisioned myself being the super cool fashionable auntie who traveled whenever and wherever and was never too good to give you a couple of dollars.
I’m a mom to an amazing and bright five-year-old autistic daughter named AJ (Allison Jr.), who has moderate autism. She’s gone through multiple therapies ranging from speech therapy, developmental therapy, occupational and others to help her overall cognitive and behavioral growth.
Here I am, five years into being a full-time single parent, and I am still a stoner, and to be honest, I don’t see myself ever slowing down or removing marijuana from my daily diet. When people ask me why my skin looks so clear, I always tell them my secret is a good skincare routine, drinking tons of water, and weed.
During my pregnancy in 2017, I struggled a lot with depression and feeling completely isolated and alone. I had great support from some of my closest friends, but being the first person in my close friend group to become pregnant caused me to feel and experience emotions I never knew I could feel. My life had completely shifted during a time when I wasn’t ready for such a significant change in my life, but I had to step up and be all that my baby needed to be, so I did my absolute best to do just that.
Like a lot of single mama’s out there, I work and parent full-time, all while still trying to live my ultimate best life. When people ask me how I balance it all, I tell them it’s simple—Mary Jane. She is what helps keep this mama sane.
Once I can safely smoke without my daughter around, I feel I can parent much better, all while still getting sh*t done. Although I’m not the first parent who finds solace with cannabis, occasional stigmas, and less-than-favorable comments do tend to arise when I meet new people who feel smoking and parenting can or shouldn’t exist together in the same space.
I truly feel that those types of people may not have the slightest idea of what it’s like to parent, let alone parent, a child who is autistic. Many times I find myself questioning my parenting skills or if I’m truly fulfilling my daughter's needs and wants. However, I am a stoner mom who is working to practice conscious and gentle parenting. I am remembering to give myself grace and patience just like I do with my daughter.
To my fellow stoner mamas—you’re doing a good job. As long as you’re practicing safe and healthy habits with cannabis, I say continue to roll one and smoke one when the days are long and things get tough because before anything, we are human.