Parents Using Medical Cannabis: Helps With Parenting, But Stigma Creates Stress | Research

The takeaway

Parents who are medical cannabis patients reported it helped their parenting through symptom relief and improved patience, but feared legal consequences and social stigma.

Medical cannabis clinicians; parents considering medical cannabis; family policy researchers.

Cannabis improved patience and symptom management but stigma strained parenting identity

What the researchers found

In 24 qualitative interviews, parents who were medical cannabis patients in Pennsylvania described cannabis as supporting their parental role through symptom reduction, mood improvement, and increased patience. However, fear of legal consequences and stigma around their use created strain on their identity as parents.

Why it matters

As more states legalize medical cannabis, the number of parents using it grows. Understanding the tension between therapeutic benefit and social stigma helps inform both policy and clinical conversations.

The numbers in context

24 parent interviews conducted. Parents reported cannabis improved mood, reduced physical/psychological symptoms, and increased patience with children. Fear of legal consequences and stigma were primary sources of role strain.

How the study worked

Qualitative study using 24 semi-structured interviews with parents from an ongoing registry study of medical cannabis patients in Pennsylvania. Analyzed using role strain theory with a priori and emergent coding.

What this study cannot tell us

Small qualitative sample (24 interviews). Pennsylvania-specific legal context. Self-selected participants from a registry study. Predominantly represents patients willing to discuss their use. No comparison group of non-parent patients.

How to read the evidence

Small qualitative study in a single state; valuable for understanding lived experience but not generalizable.

When this study was published

2025 study

The bigger picture

The disconnect between legal medical cannabis use and persistent social stigma creates a unique stressor for parents. This mirrors broader societal ambivalence about cannabis, where legal access hasn't fully normalized use.

Questions still open

How do race and ethnicity intersect with stigma experiences for parent medical cannabis patients? Does stigma differ in states with recreational legalization? How do children perceive their parents' medical cannabis use?

Common questions

How did medical cannabis help parenting?

Parents reported that symptom relief (both physical and psychological), mood improvement, and increased patience with their children made them feel like better parents.

What were the main concerns?

Fear of legal consequences (such as child protective services involvement) and social stigma were the primary sources of stress, even though their cannabis use was legally authorized.

Read the original research

Role Strain Among Parents Who are Medical Cannabis Patients in Pennsylvania.

Journal of psychoactive drugs, 1-9

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Finkelstein, Maddy; Salerno Valdez, Elizabeth; Cordingley, Olivia; Pagán, Samantha; Ataiants, Janna; Lankenau, Stephen E. (2025). Role Strain Among Parents Who are Medical Cannabis Patients in Pennsylvania.. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2025.2550293