hi.

i'm brand new here.

i've signed up to anonymously out myself and ask for some input.

basically it goes like this:

i'm an intelligent self-medicating marijuana user.

my primary form of use has been to get high prior to going running... although i used to also be more than happy to smoke recreationally here and there.

anyway, i got pregnant last year but did not stop running and cut way back on my smoking, but i did not completely stop b/c i was aware of the research done by melanie dreher as well as the politics surrounding marijuana as a recreational drug (instead of as a medicinal herb).

instead i limited myself to one one-hitter prior to my run throughout my pregnancy... pretty much every day of the week.

my boy was born a few months back perfectly healthy (and adorable) and has been an utter delight to me.

after giving birth, i obviously had to stop running (i ran through my pregnancy until the day i went into labor while on my run)... and had about three weeks of no pot smoking b/c i was not running.

i was and am breastfeeding though.

and b/c my boy is now in front of my face perfect and vulnerable, i suffer from severe bouts of guilt, but have been unable to stop this highly controlled ritual of smoking two to three hits off my one-hitter before running. i have done this in complete secret from my partner and family, and no one is the wiser.

my boy is one of the happiest easiest-to-care for babies i've ever seen... alert totally on target for many of his developmental milestones and advanced on a few as well.

but still, i worry.

i argue w/ myself every day about it.

on the one hand, i like to think that those small hits of marijuana are sooo small that they've been metabolized by the time i get back from my loooong run (over an hour and up to ten miles).

i also know i'm fighting off post partum depression w/ this joining of vice and virtue. i think of the jamaican moms who smoke weed as a matter of course, and how the smoker mom's kids are more intelligent than the non-smokers (according to dreher's studies).

but i am a child of the dare generation... and i know the shit storm i would receive if anyone knew what i was doing while breastfeeding my baby.

i'd like to hear what any and all of you have to say about my horrible little secret.

I wouldn't worry about it. You are talking about very small amounts. My wife smoked a little during pegnancy and breastfeeding, just a couple hits a day like you. I beleive we researched it some and in some cultures like the Jamaicans, weed was smoked all the time and during pregnancies with no obvious effects. Anyway that was over 20 years ago and our son is healthy as a horse. He always slept like a log and ate everything we put in front of him and always had a happy disposition. I think the old adage "everything in moderation" would apply here as well. It may be possible to over do it on the weed but it would be kind of irresponsible to just huff bongs every couple hours every day. It sounds like you will have a happy healthy child since you are so health conscious yourself which is another trait of a positive attitude. "don't worry, be happy"

This is very interesting to me. I've never been pregnant, but I hope to be a mom one day. I wondered about the effects of smoking marijuana during pregnancy because I have Crohn's disease which is greatly relieved by a few puffs a day. I think it makes more sense for me to be able to have a couple hoots than to be popping prescriptions that are the same given to leukemia patients.

I know where you are coming from though: I also would fear the reactions from family/friends/medical professionals if they found out i was using cannabis while pregnant/breastfeeding.

Don't let your guilt get to you too much, if it was going to cause harm it would have probably shown itself already. I think you and your little man will be just fine. THC is probably one of the least harmful substances he will be exposed to in his young life. Keep us posted! I would love to know how things go down the road.

We've had articles in Cannabis Culture magazine (and posted on the website too) about pot and pregnancy, and let me assure you that you're not doing anything wrong! Here are the articles, most recent to oldest.

Cannababies
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4295.html

Toking while breastfeeding?
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4361.html

Taiwanese tradition of pot and pregnancy
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4341.html

Women and cannabis
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2888.html

Pot and pregnancy study
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2805.html

Mothers who smoke pot: Dr. Melanie Dreher, reefer researcher
Part 1) http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1404.html
Part 2) http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1422.html

Moms, Kids and Drugs
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1377.html

Pregnancy & Pot
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/1375.html

Honestly,a small amount would be okay. Think of it like this if there was something wrong with the babe, than could you honestly you did not drink or toke when the questions arrive. Just something to think about.

I had a girlfriend whose mother smoked during pregnancy,
she graduated first in her class
healthy individual, cheerleader in college at UCLA

No worries.
God made Cannabis
Man made beer
Who do you trust


&

For what it's worth, if you're in the USA I would be careful. If, by chance, your child were to need medical treatment and they manage to find cannabis in his system, DCF will take your child from you.

I'm more bothered that you toke in secret, than your small amounts of cannabis you consume. Lies in relationships never ever ever help things work out in the long run.

I really wonder if smoking canabis during pregnacy maybe makes the child have a happier diposition ? My mother was a pothead back in the day when she had me and i was always told i had a high itelligence and now shes had another baby and has smoked with him (forget the fact that shes in her 40's)and her came out healthy beside jaundice which was quickly taken care of but hes a really happy baby rarely fusses and almost never cries . . . all that being said do not feel guilty about minor usage most of the bad things you hear bout POT IS OLD PROPAGANDA