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Agence France-Presse

Smoking cannabis has made me “a better mother”, says Karine Cyr.
The mother of two leads a group of like-minded Canadian women challenging norms and rejecting stigmas around parenting and pot since the government legalised its recreational use last October.
They are tired, she says, of having to hide their use of the mind-altering drug from family, neighbours and others, and have set out to educate their peers about its benefits.
“People are not informed. They still think that when we use cannabis, we sit in front of our television eating pizza like teenagers,” Cyr says.




“When I consume cannabis, I do housework, I play with my children. I am more patient with my children, more present. It helps me to be a better mother, a better person.”
Doctors disagree. But her message has resonated with hundreds of members of her Des fleurs ma chere (Flowers, my dear) Facebook group, which she created to share experiences and thoughts about pot.
The group includes “entrepreneurs, psychologists, models, photographers … they are women from all walks of life,” says ganja yoga instructor Cynthia Petrin, herself a member. Ganja yoga combines marijuana and meditation.
CBD: the people who understand the potential of medicinal marijuana
Another similar Facebook group, Mother Mary, based in Montreal, has some 5,000 members.
Sitting in her living room, the smell of marijuana lingering, Jordana Zabitsky, in her 30s, says she started Mother Mary in a bid to push back against “mummy shaming”.
“I’m expected to work full time. I’m expected to be with my kids full time. I’m expected to have a clean house. I’m expected to have my bills paid on time,” she says.

“I have so much on my shoulders – I am only one person. The cannabis allows me to accomplish my daily tasks so much better!”
Canada’s health ministry warns parents against consuming cannabis because of the risks of second-hand smoke, while warning it also “may reduce a person’s ability to pay attention [to their child], make decisions or react to emergencies”.
But Cyr argues that cannabis is a far better alternative than prescribed opioids or antidepressants to treat anxiety or depression in new mothers.

“Mums feel lonely and do not know where to turn. They feel ashamed and afraid,” says fellow pot proponent Annie-Claude Bertrand.
Cyr began using cannabidiol (CBD) oil, made from a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis plants, after her second pregnancy to relax.
She refused to take opioids prescribed by her doctor that made her feel like a “zombie”.
Before I went into labour, I smoked a really big joint, and it was fantastic. All my doctors knew.
Jordana Zabitsky
“I wasn’t sleeping, I had big sleep disorders, [but] the first time I took CBD oil, I slept through the night like I used to,” she says.
According to the government statistical agency, 12 per cent of Canadian women have used cannabis, compared to 19 per cent of the total Canadian population.
And several studies show that the drug’s popularity among women in both Canada and the United States – where several states have legalised it – is growing fast.
Why Hong Kong should not follow Canada on legal marijuana move
Marketers have even taken notice and started targeting their products specifically to women and young mothers.
For women, says Zabitsky, who admits to consuming “micro-doses” during her first pregnancy and daily when she was pregnant with her second child, “the top question is, ‘Can I use cannabis during pregnancy?’”
“Right before I went into labour, I smoked a really big joint, and it was fantastic. All my doctors knew,” she says, assuring that her three-year-old and one-year-old children are healthy and “too smart” for their respective ages.

Dr Antoine Kanamugire, however, says marijuana is not recommended during pregnancy because “THC, the psychoactive substance, will cross the placenta, so the baby will get 10 to 30 per cent of the dose consumed by his mother”.
“Cannabis can greatly influence the development of the central nervous system and the immune system of the fetus,” says the author of The 21 Unspoken Truths About Marijuana.
Cannabis also passes into breast milk.
O, cannabis! Here’s how Canadians are celebrating legalisation
Those warnings, however, have not dissuaded Zabitsky and the other mothers in her group, who note that a century of prohibition has had the effect of throttling research into cannabis.
In her living room, she unveils THC-infused butter, confectionery, soaps and skin creams for her guests, while touting cannabis as good for women’s libido.
“It’s like Viagra for women,” she says with a smile.


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Wellness

The Canadian mums who swear cannabis makes them better parents – ‘Before I went into labour, I smoked a big joint’

Some Canadian mothers say cannabis makes them better parents. Here a woman smokes a marijuana cigarette during a legalisation party in Toronto. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 17, 2018, a man smokes a marijuana cigarette during a legalization party at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ontario. - Canada's health ministry warns parents against consuming cannabis because of the risks of second-hand smoke, while warning it also "may reduce a person's ability to pay attention (to their child), make decisions or react to emergencies." But groups like Facebook's "Des fleurs ma chere" (Flowers my dear) and "Mother Mary," share the benefits of parenting and using cannabis. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 17, 2018, a woman smokes a marijuana cigarette during a legalization party at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto, Ontario. - Canada's health ministry warns parents against consuming cannabis because of the risks of second-hand smoke, while warning it also "may reduce a person's ability to pay attention (to their child), make decisions or react to emergencies." But groups like Facebook's "Des fleurs ma chere" (Flowers my dear) and "Mother Mary," share the benefits of parenting and using cannabis. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 20, 2016 a flag with a marijuana leaf is held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. - Canada's health ministry warns parents against consuming cannabis because of the risks of second-hand smoke, while warning it also "may reduce a person's ability to pay attention (to their child), make decisions or react to emergencies." But groups like Facebook's "Des fleurs ma chere" (Flowers my dear) and "Mother Mary," share the benefits of parenting and using cannabis. (Photo by Chris Roussakis / AFP)

Buying pot in Canada: who is selling and where can it be smoked?

At least 111 legal pot shops are expected to open across the nation of 37 million people on Wednesday

Illustration by Harry Harrison.

A man smokes a bong on a beach in Vancouver, Canada. Photo: AFP

Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Some mothers are creating Facebook groups to promote the use of pot when parenting. They say it helps them be more patient with their children
Doctors don’t agree, saying the drug’s use may affect a parent’s ability to pay attention to their child, make decisions or react to emergencies


Some Canadian mothers are turning to Facebook to promote and discuss the use of pot when parenting. They say it helps them be more patient with their children. Doctors don’t agree.


Canada

Drugs

Parenting: newborns to toddlers