So just how accepting were mothers when it came to ordering cannabis online for the first time after marijuana became legal just over a month ago? And did legalization create new cannabis users who happen to be mothers? The answer is a resounding Yes!
Most surprising was that not one of the mothers interviewed for this article, let’s call them the First Timers’ Club, were at all worried about what their children, relatives, friends or even their spouses may think about them buying and enjoying, occasionally, the high life. Not once did the subjects bring up their children.
However, there was one commonality: the interest in keeping knowledge of cannabis use away from their employers. Hence only first names are used.
For example, Alison is a mom of two school-aged children and also happens to be a teacher. She ordered from the website three days after cannabis was legalized.
“Please don’t use my last name,” she asked. “I’m a teacher so…”
Although the stigma surrounding people who use cannabis recreationally may be lessening, many mothers are rightly concerned about their employment situation and the judgement or even the possibility, however slight, of losing their jobs. But that didn’t stop them from ordering.
“I have never ever done pot before. When it arrived three days later it was beautifully wrapped, but it was in full pot form. I had no idea what to do with it,” Alison said. “I’m not a skilled smoker! So I walked over to my good friend’s house, and she taught me how to roll. I had ordered ‘harmony and balance.’ I can truly say that I felt both balanced and harmonized. I loved it.”
Those in the First Timers’ Club also had another important decision to make: who would they partake with for the very first time? Tara is a mother of two children, ages 15 and 17, and her first time smoking was on Oct. 19, two days after legalization. With whom did she enjoy her purchase? Her 80-year-old aunt.
“I wouldn’t put my last name in please, but it was so funny,” she said. “We were sitting around at Christmas a few years ago and somehow the topic of who had ever smoked pot came up. It turned out that it was only myself and my aunt who hadn’t ever tried it. So we made a pact for her 80th birthday that we would try it together.”
Her aunt turned 80 in September, but Tara couldn’t make it to her aunt’s party.
“At 45, I just wanted to also see what all the fuss was about. I really enjoyed it. I smoked with my husband, and it was a very intimate and bonding evening. We needed it!”
“So we did it Oct. 19, at my cousin’s wedding. I liked it. And so did she. She suddenly wanted a piece of cake really badly. I couldn’t stop laughing. We laughed a lot that night and it was a bonding moment!”
How did she know what to order, since most of the mothers I spoke with are far from skilled smokers?
“I asked my friends what type to order and they said the indica strain,” she said. “I couldn’t believe they had pre-rolled when I went to the site on the day it went live! So I ordered online and it came in two days. I’m not sure what everyone was complaining about with long waits.”
Many early adopter moms stayed up until midnight on Oct. 17 to be the first to order.
“I ordered 15 pre-rolled joints from the OCS [Ontario Cannabis Store] on Oct. 17 just after midnight,” Sarah, a mother of three, said. “I wanted to be part of history, but I actually don’t even smoke, so not sure what I will do with them. I still haven’t opened the box it was delivered in.”
Helena, mother of a 14- and 12-year-old, said she wanted to spice up her date night with her husband of 16 years.
“I ordered on the day the website was up. I wanted to do it with my husband on his birthday, which was about a week after I ordered,” she said. “I thought he would want to try it with me for his first time because now it is legal and I had never done it. My husband was not into trying it at all. He thought I was joking when I said I bought some, until he saw the credit card bill.”
A number of people who ordered for the first time wanted to try cannabis as a sleep aid or to help with anxiety.
“I have been having trouble sleeping, and I heard about how cannabis can help you be less anxious to get a better sleep,” said Michelle, a mother of two kids under five. She ordered a bottle of cannabis capsules and said, “They are way better than pharmacy pills.”
Some mothers are now also saying they are turning to cannabis instead of alcohol at the end of a long day, or, as we say in the parent world, many moms are swapping their “mommy juice,” for cannabis.
“I’m tired of chugging wine and having a hangover plus all the calories in wine,” another mother said. “At 45, I just wanted to also see what all the fuss was about. I really enjoyed it. I smoked with my husband, and it was a very intimate and bonding evening. We needed it! I’ve already placed another order.”
Many who have tried cannabis in the past, even if it was 20 years ago, still wanted to be part of history.
“I have my clandestine ways of getting weed. But I waited up, just so I could see what the government was offering on their website,” said Liz, a single mother of a 10-year-old. “My first order was in by 12:15 a.m.,” she said and laughed. She enjoys her heightened experience with her husband, as well as with some of her other mother friends.
“I bought randomly. I bought two different strains. My husband bought oils. So it was my first time using the marijuana oil. I had the best night’s sleep! But now I’m worried that the government has my private information and also my credit card number. So I may go back to the old-school route.”
