Public Opinion Supports Pot-Smoking Parents: Surprised? [INFOGRAPHIC]

by SodaHead Infographics Posted 2011/08/24 22:00:00

Related Topics: SodaHead Infographic, Infographics, Deep Dive, Poll, Public Opinion, Poll Results, Results, Pot, Weed, parents, Police, Crime, Marijuana, Child Endangerment, Child Protective Services, Infographic

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Earlier this week we asked SodaHeads what they thought about police getting involved with pot-smoking parents. Should police launch child-endangerment investigations because a parent smokes weed, or should the authorities keep their paws off pot?

If you missed out on the original story, here's an excerpt:

When police found around 10 grams of marijuana in Penelope Harris' Bronx apartment last year, prosecutors didn't even bother charging her with the crime because the amount wasn't even significant enough to merit a misdemeanor.

It was, however, enough to have her kids taken from her.

According to the New York Times, Harris had two kids living with her when police found the illicit substance, her 10-year-old son and 8-year-old niece -- and child welfare took both of them from her possession, despite not being charged with anything.

Her son was returned within a week but her niece, who was living with Harris as a foster child, was taken from her for over a year. Harris only recently got her back.

She said, "I felt like less of a parent, like I had failed my children. It tore me up."

So, what did SodaHeads decide?

Keep your paws off our weed! Of course, not everyone agreed, so we thought this would be the perfect question to dive into for today's Deep Dive infographic. Wanna know what parents thought? What about the kids? And where are the majority of these pot-smoking parents likely residing?

We've compiled all that information and more right here -- and presented it in a simple, easy-to-read infographic.

Let's dive.

pot-smoking parents residing compiled information simple easy-to-read graphic layout dive

pot-smoking parents residing compiled information simple easy-to-read graphic layout dive

+25

mike j 2011/08/24 22:45:55

+23
The message here is that the Nanny State has stepped over the line when it comes to the American family , family values , and family activities , this is not just about marijuana , it is the entire overreaching of Government into the personal lives of Americans and American family life.
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More Infographics

TN_Bimbo. to Sheila 2011/08/31 00:37:48

+2
you mean obama citizen police...hmmm

hmmmm

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wilsonmja 2011/08/25 19:29:58

+1
It's quite clear that people are getting hip to the lies we've been told by the governement our entire lives about marIjuana.

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TN_Bimbo. to wilsonmja 2011/08/31 00:50:32

+1
there's more
http://www.michaelsavage.wnd....

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wilsonmja to TN_Bimbo. 2011/08/31 04:44:39

+1
Yeah, thanks, but I don't need that nut job to tell me the government is lying to me. I can just look around.

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PanDuh 2011/08/25 19:25:34

+2
If my mom smoked pot I could probably get off the hook for a lot of things. Quite frankly, for someone who dealed with the stress of raising 5 kids, it would probably do her some good :\

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Mrs Reckless 2011/08/25 18:35:37

No, there are a lot of idiots in the public :/

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♛Littlɘ Ǫuɘɘn~ƿɦɐɘϯ 2011/08/25 18:35:04

+5
Are they investigating wine drinking parents? No. Leave the responsible parents alone, no matter they sip or toke.

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jokeriser 2011/08/25 18:26:28

+1
hey I was at Y and I saw a parents night sign with a green drawn on it

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Assault 2011/08/25 18:23:09

+1
Medical Cannabis for the win once again.

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Mandi Pandi 2011/08/25 17:23:32

+8
i would have killed to have stoner parents believe it or not. Growing up, my mother divorced my alcoholic/abusive father after stomping on my brother when he was a baby (booze makes him an angry person). As I got older I began to see less and less of my mom and more of the stranger she became when she drank. My oldest brother learned to cook Banquet TV dinners night after night since our mother was absent, unable to take care of her children while she was out drinking or passed out on the couch with a bottle of schnapps. The barrel of a gun in his mouth is what it took to give my dad a wake up call that he needed to get help. My mother continues to drink like a fish and is in denial about her problem. I was emotionally abandoned by both my parents and my step dad, one who was more of a father to me than my real one, drank himself to death. Alcohol has ruined my childhood as well as both my brothers', forcing us to grow up way too soon for kids.
Had my parents smoked pot, life would have been more peaceful. i wouldn't have had to grow up with my grandparents taking care of us kids and my drunk mother. There wouldn't have been the horrid arguments my mother and i would get into. We would have all been closer. I smoke pot everyday and still I find I am able to be there for my ch...

i would have killed to have stoner parents believe it or not. Growing up, my mother divorced my alcoholic/abusive father after stomping on my brother when he was a baby (booze makes him an angry person). As I got older I began to see less and less of my mom and more of the stranger she became when she drank. My oldest brother learned to cook Banquet TV dinners night after night since our mother was absent, unable to take care of her children while she was out drinking or passed out on the couch with a bottle of schnapps. The barrel of a gun in his mouth is what it took to give my dad a wake up call that he needed to get help. My mother continues to drink like a fish and is in denial about her problem. I was emotionally abandoned by both my parents and my step dad, one who was more of a father to me than my real one, drank himself to death. Alcohol has ruined my childhood as well as both my brothers', forcing us to grow up way too soon for kids.
Had my parents smoked pot, life would have been more peaceful. i wouldn't have had to grow up with my grandparents taking care of us kids and my drunk mother. There wouldn't have been the horrid arguments my mother and i would get into. We would have all been closer. I smoke pot everyday and still I find I am able to be there for my child and can maintain a healthy relationship with my husband. No one turns abusive after smoking pot, in fact you find that you will be on the same page with other fellow stoners and you actually have a good time...unlike drunks who have no idea what they are talking about...but they claim to be right...and fight.
(more)

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wilsonmja to Mandi P... 2011/08/25 19:32:28

+2
Good story. I can relate. Did your brother that got stomped on survive?

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Mandi P... to wilsonmja 2011/08/26 02:31:25

+1
yes, he was my oldest sibling that was the one ended up cooking supper for us. me or him didn't have our dad in our lives till we were 12 and 14.

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wilsonmja to Mandi P... 2011/08/26 07:24:05

+2
I'm glad that he survived and that you came out of your childhood and turned out OK. I made it out, but my brother is in prison and my sister is a meth addict.

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Mandi P... to wilsonmja 2011/08/26 18:13:04

its not fair for kids to grow up in those kinds of homes. sorry to hear about your siblings, growing up i always told myself i would never be like my mother, i would never drink. ^.^; well i have drank but its definitely something i can't get addicted to, i don't care for it that much, only when its a social thing or celebration. glad you came out strong, hope one day your siblings will turn a new leaf...meth is a nasty drug and i imagine it being 100x worse than an alcoholic parent. :/

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Lukavi 2011/08/25 17:17:39

+4
Children exposed to usage of illicit substances are given the impression that they can be above the law. With marijuana being a low level drug, children can find their way into increasingly harder drugs with little effort. Showing kids that no one is above the law is what this case should display.

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Michael to Lukavi 2011/08/25 17:23:41

+2
Said perfectly. Not all MJ users become drug addicts, but all drug addicts used MJ.

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Lukavi to Michael 2011/08/25 17:26:39

Very well put!

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TrishHart to Michael 2011/08/25 17:53:28

+3
Dont blame the pot, blame the retard smoking it. Blaming the weed is just drug abuse man, wtf did pot ever do to u???? There are many, many, many high functioning people that smoke weed everyday and still manage to clean their house, raise their children, keep a job and socialize with all their friends and family. I know this is a fact because Ive done it for over 20 years. Propaganda made marijuana evil, laws made drugs taboo. Ive done my homework on the subject, Im sure your personal involvement consists of watching a few Intervention episodes on A&E.

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Mandi P... to TrishHart 2011/08/26 18:20:46

+1
i'm one of those functioning parents. i clean my house, raise my child, my husband is a hard worker and well liked (so long as no one knows our dirty little secret), we cook dinner, and at the end of the day instead of having a cold one after a long day we have a bowl to wind down. weed can make people feel lazy but, as always, the person smoking is in complete control as opposed to a crack addict who itches for the fix or an alcoholic who becomes abusive after one too many etc. etc. There's too much propaganda garbage floating around and the government knowingly lies to the people about its "dangerous" effects. a load of BS. >_<
not to mention, have you noticed that since its been used for medicinal purposes that we still study it as a drug instead of as a medicine? even then, we are throwing our tax dollars away to "study" something that's been used for years, and years, and years, and years for medicine. they need to stop wasting our money and just legalize the damn plant for christ's sake.

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Mandi P... to Mandi P... 2011/08/26 18:21:24

by the way, everything you put was very well said! would rave you more if i could :)

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TrishHart to Mandi P... 2011/08/30 17:23:13
Mandi P... to TrishHart 2011/08/31 01:04:34

+1
americans just need to get their noses out of other people's asses first and look around at the rest of the world, at the countries that already have it legalized...everyone is more laid back then us, the crime rate is lower that ours, non-violent offenders aren't filling up jail cells, and everyone is making money off of it being legalized. i just don't get it. O_O why has it not been legalized yet? why are all of our tax dollars being spent to "study" a plant that has been used for so long as a medicine anyways and why is it being "studied" as a drug and not a medicine? all these studies are unnecessary, all we need to do is ask a neighboring country with it already legalized how things are going for them. -_-; seems like many americans just have rocks for brains. i envy your freedom lol :) ...because really, its NOT a big deal, its a plant. not for everyone but its not a crime.

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TrishHart to Mandi P... 2011/08/31 16:16:55

+1
The reason its not legal is because they have way too much cash invested in their "War on Drugs", but its not a war on drugs, its a war on personal freedom.

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Mandi P... to TrishHart 2011/09/01 02:16:32

+1

seriously, what is wrong with people? so money hungry...then we hear congress wants a pay raise, they can't seem to make it on over $170,000 but people like me and my family manage on waaaay less than that?! in the end its always about money. if they're looking to make extra cash, do what we all do: budget and get a second job -.- the government is really agitating to me at the moment.lol

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♛Littlɘ... to Michael 2011/08/25 18:37:04

+3
Not true. I have known a few people who never chose to try MJ but did choose to use other drugs.

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mae to ♛Littlɘ... 2011/08/25 21:31:32

+5
Correct! Many working people who would never dream of smoking weed are currently badly addicted to a variety of prescription medications--painkillers-muscle relaxers--amphetamines. Never touched Marijuana, badly addicted all the same!

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wilsonmja to Michael 2011/08/25 19:34:33

+1
Not true. That's simply not true. Even if it were, it's not a very solid point.

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Rita Long to Lukavi 2011/08/25 20:55:51

+2
That's a false statement. I smoked cigarettes before I smoked weed. No more weed still hocked on cancer sticks. Witch is a legal drug. I if could find some weed right now I would give up my cancer sticks.

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Lukavi to Rita Long 2011/08/25 22:12:20

Weed is still destructive for the body. The intake of heated air damages the mouth, wind pipe & lungs. Also consider the amount of tar taken in with every drag. A last item to consider is the habit that it forms with people. Just like drinking a beer, people will want to come home & toke up a joint. While it may not form with all people, it is guaranteed that there will be some that it becomes a habit with.

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Andrea to Lukavi 2011/08/29 15:44:25

+1
Smoking weed is safer for you than a cigarette.

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Lukavi to Andrea 2011/08/31 05:09:00

Of course it is, but smoking weed is still destructive for the primary reasons I originally listed.

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Andrea to Lukavi 2011/08/31 15:18:48

And cigarettes are not? Yet they are legal and people smoke the hell out of them.

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Lukavi to Andrea 2011/08/31 16:02:11

When have I ever said that cigarettes are safe or healthy?

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Andrea to Lukavi 2011/09/01 02:48:17

You missed the point, but I am not surprised.

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TrishHart to Lukavi 2011/08/31 01:01:39

Thats why u get a vaporizer.

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Lukavi to TrishHart 2011/08/31 05:09:20

And how does a vaporizer make it any safer?

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Andrea to Lukavi 2011/08/26 15:44:19

+2
Really? I was raised by pot heads and none of my 4 siblings or me are into any drug at all.

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Lukavi to Andrea 2011/08/26 16:19:03

You're an exception though. Most of the people know who I knew or had in my classes who had pot head parents had tried drugs due to their parents.

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Sister Jean 2011/08/25 17:04:21

NO

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Theresa 2011/08/25 17:01:30

+1
This question is a very strange one. What other criteria was used to determine the fitness of the parent? If not one other supporting evidence was produced then the decision to remove the children was unfair and far outside the boundaries of civil law.

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