Cannabis Use and Parenting: A Small Daily-Survey Study Finds Context Matters
A small study of parents who use cannabis found that parenting behaviors varied by timing and social context—but it did not show that cannabis improves parenting.
The research, published in Parenting: Science and Practice in 2024, examined how cannabis use was associated with positive parenting and aggressive discipline in daily life. Researchers Bridget Freisthler of the University of Tennessee, Holly Thurston of The Ohio State University and Jennifer Price Wolf of San José State University collected data from parents in the greater Sacramento, California, area.
The project began with 79 cannabis-using participants, 77 of whom provided complete data. Participants had at least one child between the ages of 2 and 12 who was in their custody at least half the time. Most were mothers, and the average participant was about 32 years old. After completing a baseline survey, parents answered five brief surveys a day for 14 days about parenting, stress, alcohol and cannabis use, and the circumstances surrounding those behaviors.
What the study found
Parents reported being with their children during more than 70% of the assessment periods. Among the episodes in which parents said they had used cannabis, however, children were physically present during only 10.8% of those episodes. Overall, parents reported that their children were absent during 92.3% of cannabis-use episodes.
Positive parenting—measured through behaviors such as warmth, affection, sensitivity and nurturing—was associated with cannabis use during the same reporting period and was more clearly associated with the following assessment period. In the researchers’ adjusted analysis, parents had higher odds of reporting positive parenting after cannabis use than during periods in which they did not report using it.
The study found no clear association between cannabis use and aggressive discipline after accounting for individual characteristics. The researchers defined aggressive discipline as practices such as spanking, name-calling or other forms of punishment intended to cause physical pain or emotional distress.
Social context appeared to be important. Cannabis use with a spouse, partner or friends was associated with higher odds of positive parenting in the subsequent assessment period. By contrast, using cannabis with people described as having weak social ties—such as acquaintances—was associated with greater odds of aggressive discipline during the same period. The authors suggest that concerns about being judged by acquaintances, or differences in caregiving roles, could help explain these patterns, but the study did not test those explanations directly.
Why the findings do not show that cannabis enhances parenting
The results describe associations, not cause-and-effect relationships. The study was observational, relied on parents’ self-reports and included a relatively small, regionally recruited sample. It also compared periods of cannabis use with periods of nonuse among cannabis-using parents; it did not compare them with a matched group of parents who do not use cannabis.
The researchers also did not determine whether participants used cannabis for medical reasons, pain, stress, recreation or another purpose. Relief from pain or other health problems could potentially affect how a parent feels and behaves, but that possibility remains speculative. Likewise, a parent’s choice to use cannabis in a particular social setting may reflect circumstances that also influence parenting.
The findings therefore should not be interpreted as evidence that cannabis makes people more patient, attentive or effective parents. They do suggest that the relationship between cannabis use and parenting may depend on factors such as who is present, whether another adult is sharing caregiving responsibilities and how the parent is feeling before use.
Child safety remains a separate concern
Keeping children physically separated from cannabis use does not eliminate other risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises storing cannabis products in a locked, childproof container away from children and pets. This is especially important for edibles, which can resemble ordinary candy or snacks and may produce delayed, longer-lasting effects.
The American Academy of Pediatrics likewise recommends that parents and caregivers avoid using cannabis around children and keep all cannabis products locked and out of reach. Its guidance on edible cannabis also cautions that cannabis use can impair reaction time and the ability to provide a safe environment.
Future studies with larger and more diverse samples, objective measures of use, interviews and information about children’s experiences could clarify what is behind the patterns observed here. For now, the most defensible conclusion is limited: among this small group of cannabis-using parents, positive parenting was reported more often during or after some cannabis-use episodes, while social setting appeared to influence the outcome. The study does not establish that cannabis improves parenting or that it is harmless in family settings.
