57% of mom say they hide their cannabis at home, but not from their kids
ICYMI, we conducted a survey in May 2021 to understand the sentiment mothers have about talking to their kids about cannabis.
With legalization sweeping through the United States in 2021, Stori wanted to understand if the sentiment about hiding cannabis has changed since a 2019 survey published by Forbes which said 42% of mothers who consume cannabis hide it from their children. “We know that moms experience a disproportionate amount of cannabis stigma so we wanted to celebrate mom’s who roll,” said Karina Karssev, co-founder of Stori.
The survey had over 1,300 participants. “We believe in normalizing cannabis through education and conversation so we hope we inspired at least 1,300 conversations about cannabis,” Karassev continued.
The survey resulted in some interesting findings. Eighty-nine per cent of moms said they feel it’s important to talk to their kids about cannabis, and 59% said their kids know they consume cannabis because they told them. Thirty percent of respondents said they want to have the conversation soon and are looking for credible information to have the facts for their talk. “There is a lot of information to cover and unfortunately there are still a lot of myths to dispel. At Stori, we have created a starting point for the conversation available on our blog.”
The contradicting sentiment we found was that when we asked where they store their cannabis, 57% of moms said they still hide their cannabis at home. And when asked what concerns them the most about their kids knowing they consume cannabis, 19% said they are concerned their kids may tell extended family, friends or teachers who may judge them.
One mom we spoke to said her kids know her Stori and the contents inside are for adults, just like the wine in the fridge. This is because she has had the conversation with her six and nine-year-old sons. However, although she was comfortable having a conversation with her kids, she realized she is concerned she may be judged by parents or teachers if they find out she consumes cannabis. This realization came when she picked her kids up from school with a shopping bag from a legal cannabis store. When we asked her if she would feel the same way if she was carrying a liquor store bag she said of course not! Moms every day are facing this double standard.
Stories like this are consistent with the results from our survey. Moms seem to be comfortable having the cannabis conversation at home with their kids, but they continue to hide their cannabis from others because of the social stigma that still exists today. Moms drinking wine has been normalized but moms who choose to consume cannabis continue to be stigmatized.
This is the reality for many parents and something we are actively trying to change here at Stori. We're celebrating moms and parents who roll. And we want you to know, you're not alone!