Cannabis consumption and parenting: rethinking the evidence

presented by Dr Tristan Duncan
Against a backdrop of global cannabis law reform, cannabis use by parents has become a site of heightened public health concern. Healthcare providers, researchers, and governments have increasingly cautioned against cannabis use in the context of parenthood, emphasising its potential to impair parenting and parent-child relationships. In this webinar, we critically review the evidence base on parental cannabis use and parenting, highlighting some of the key assumptions, logics, and tendencies at play across this research. We then draw on original empirical research with parents who use cannabis to foreground the ways in which parents understand and navigate their cannabis consumption during the early stages of first-time parenthood. We conclude by reflecting on implications for service provision and policy.
Objectives:
1. To critically review current evidence on cannabis consumption and its relationship to parenting and parenting outcome
2. To explore how new parents who use cannabis understand, practice, and experience cannabis consumption in the context of new parenthood
3. To collaboratively consider how to parental cannabis use might be addressed in health and social service encounters and policy
Dr Tristan Duncan is a Research Fellow at Turning Point and Monash University. His work explores experiences of alcohol and other drug (AOD) consumption and service delivery using social science methods, with a particular focus on gender and practices of care. Tristan has previously worked within AOD and homelessness services, where he has delivered and developed a variety of harm reduction initiatives. His current research projects include an investigation into the interrelationships between crisis conditions and AOD practices, and an empirical study of the socio-cultural and material elements at work in drug driving events.