The idea of a mom turning to a glass (or two) of wine at night to escape from the stress of parenting is one that’s been seen repeatedly. Today, some “marijuana moms” are replacing that glass of wine with a bong, edible or good old-fashioned joint.

As a sign of the times, “Good Morning, America” proclaimed “weed moms are the new wine moms” last year. They partly based that proclamation on an interview with Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a primary care pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University.

She told them that as legalization has spread, she is seeing an increased use of recreational and medical marijuana by parents “to cope with the stress of parenting and daily life. I’m hearing from more and more adults who use these products to ‘take the edge off,’ relax or ease pain.”

That’s good news for cannabis curious moms who don’t particularly like alcohol and find the idea of becoming a marijuana mom intriguing. But they may find that not everyone has let go of the marijuana stigma.

South Florida Moms Advocate For “Pot Smoking Moms”

In Miami – not exactly known for its conservative ways or traditional lifestyles –  a new podcast has emerged that seeks to “destigmatize marijuana use.” It’s called “Pot Smoking Moms.” The three marijuana moms – called MJ, Cap’n J, and Sunny D – all profess to love both motherhood and relaxing with cannabis. They know that other Moms have faced criticism for using cannabis.

“We are three South Florida mommies who want to take a break, and we are taking breaks together,” says Sunny D on a recent podcast. She goes on to say that the trio “just want to destigmatize it. That doesn’t make us bad people. That probably makes us better people.”

They say the podcast is especially for Moms who “feel bad or hide about being pot-smoking moms,” according to MJ.

The show is entertaining as the three casually chat about whatever is happening in their lives, including their own rules around using marijuana and parenting, alcohol vs. cannabis, marijuana stories in the news and how cannabis has made them better parents. Bonus: they are sometimes funny, and you will pick up some Spanish.

They are three college friends from Hialeah, according to a profile in Miami New Times. They go by their podcast names because they could lose their jobs in Florida for admitting to marijuana use – they don’t partake at work, but they wouldn’t pass a drug test.

Cannabis Stigma Called “Unfair”

The Toronto Star recently ran an opinion piece that questioned why “wine o’clock” is acceptable but there is still a stigma in some quarters about marijuana. “It’s time for us to get off our high horses about parents who like to unwind with a little cannabis,” the article stated.

According to the Star, the issue is big enough that marijuana moms in Canada banded together to form the Facebook group Canadian 420 Moms, which now has more than 2,700 members. They support each other in using marijuana for relaxation, often in place of alcohol.

Riley Parratt, a co-founder of the group, told the Star that more moms accept alcohol because “alcohol is so socially intertwined with being out and being social that no one really bats an eye.”

Tamron Hall also recently discussed the marijuana mom issue on television, interviewing moms who use cannabis. Some said that it went beyond relaxation, with one woman telling Hall that she uses cannabis instead of painkillers. But, she said, some family and friends were more upset about her using cannabis than they were about her taking painkillers.