03/30/2026
I’ve been wanting to share this body of work for a while, but every time I sit down to reflect, I’m met with something I don’t always let myself feel—joy, pride, and a deep sense of accomplishment.
Back in 2019, I came across a call for an arts-based research project on cannabis and pregnancy. My kid was 4, and I had been a long-time cannabis consumer—starting at 12, using daily by 15.
When I became pregnant at 20, everything shifted. I was suddenly asking questions I didn’t have answers to: Can I keep using? Should I stop? What are the risks?
I turned to the internet and found…nothing that felt helpful. No harm reduction, no real guidance, no space to be honest. I continued using cannabis during pregnancy and lactation without telling my doctor. I was scared—young, unemployed, in recovery, navigating new parenthood, and using cannabis as harm reduction away from other substances.
At the time, telling the truth felt like the bigger risk.
That project changed my life. There's something magical about the combination of storytelling and art as research.
Being witnessed without judgment shifted something in me—and now, years later, I’m part of building the resources I wish I had. Supporting parents and providers to have real, trauma-informed, harm reduction conversations about cannabis in the perinatal period.
This is what happens when we centre lived experience.
My heart is in this work. Always.
Please check out the work at www.wadingthroughtheweeds.com for the research report, publications, educational video and digital toolkit for parents and care providers, then drop a comment and let me know what you think 🫶🏾
