#92 — CPS and Medical Marijuana ** November 25, 2015
Guests //Indra Lusero, Esq and Heather Thompson, PhD ** Host // Valerie Borek, Esq

Across the country, states are legalizing marijuana use. Parents are discovering that medical marijuana can offer life-changing relief for their chronically ill children. But when child protective laws are not simultaneously updated, families can be caught in the middle.

Join co-host Valerie Borek, Esq as she interviews two activists in the trenches. They explore this disconnect, with a lively and important discussion on personal, medical, legal, and privacy rights, and how to protect our families:

- How legal marijuana use can have negative consequences on families.
- The importance of informed consent in maternity care.
- The problems with the dissociation between criminal and child protective laws with respect to legal marijuana.
- Understanding your options if you or your newborn tests positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) when you are pregnant, a parent, or breast feeding.
- Understanding what we know, what we think we know, and what we believe about marijuana use in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Resources

- Elephant Circle — website and Facebook page
- “Clearing the Smoke” Blog and Webinar (register for 12/9/15 event)
- Family Law and Cannabis Alliance
- National Advocates for Pregnant Women
- Birth Rights Bar Association

Heather Thompson, MS, PhD is an applied molecular biologist, parent and birth worker. She is Research Director at Mountain Midwifery Center, Inc. and on the leadership team of Elephant Circle, a reproductive justice organization based in Colorado. She is passionate about supporting and educating Colorado families on the health and legal consequences of legal marijuana use.

Indra Lusero, Esq is a longtime advocate of family privacy rights. She is on the Elephant Circle leadership team (“supporting strong people during a vulnerable time,” and President of the Birth Rights Bar Association.