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Pot Use Puts Parents On The Spot
Pubdate: Sat, 17 Sep 2005
Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005 The Hamilton Spectator
Contact: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181
Author: Susan Clairmont
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
POT USE PUTS PARENTS ON THE SPOT
Police Say Smoking Up Every Day Could Pose Danger To Baby
There are baby bottles but no bongs.
At least none I can see.
I'm sitting in Chris and Melissa Goodwin's living room. They smoke pot
every day. Quite a lot of it. They say so themselves.
Chris is the owner of Up in Smoke, Hamilton's controversial pot cafe.
Melissa is a surgical trauma nurse.
The Goodwins are also parents.
Baby Christian is almost seven months old. He smiles and kicks as he is
passed back and forth between his mom and dad, who take turns kissing the
top of his head and wiping away his spit-up. Christian's cheeks are chubby,
he smiles a lot. He seems well loved.
A few days ago, a Children's Aid Society of Hamilton social worker sat
right here for two hours making the same observations. She was -- still is
actually -- investigating the Goodwin family because of a report filed by a
Hamilton police constable.
Constable James Sutthery had a conversation with Chris a few weeks ago.
They were talking -- go figure -- about cannabis. During the chat, Chris
said he smokes marijuana every day and so does his wife. I can't imagine
Sutthery was too surprised to hear that. After all, Chris has become a
minor celebrity in this city for loudly promoting the legalization and
enjoyment of weed.
Chris didn't think much of the exchange with Sutthery until Wednesday
afternoon, when he got a frantic call from his wife.
"She was very panicked and in tears," says Chris.
A CAS worker had showed up unannounced at their East Mountain home saying
she was investigating Baby Christian's welfare based on this written report
filed by Sutthery on Aug. 30: "I, officer Sutthery, had a conversation with
the owner of the pot cafe in which Chris Goodwin admitted to using
marijuana every day. Goodwin also said his wife uses every day."
With those two sentences, an investigation and a political firestorm were
launched.
Deputy Chief Ken Leendertse says Sutthery was absolutely obligated to
notify the CAS.
Not to do so would be neglect of duty under the Police Act and would
violate the Child and Family Services Act, which says if someone believes a
child "may" be in trouble, a person "shall" report the concern to the CAS.
"This is not a political issue for us," Leendertse says.
"This is not us abusing our authority."
Once that report was filed, the CAS was obligated "to explore the
allegation that the child may be at risk," says executive director Dominic
Verticchio.
For the CAS, the concern with the Goodwins was that both parents may be
getting high at the same time, leaving Baby Christian without a responsible
adult to take care of him. The issue of second-hand pot smoke or the fact
that Chris and Melissa engage in an illegal activity every time they light
up is not the concern of the CAS, says Verticchio.
The social worker who went to the Goodwin house found "the child was doing
well, the parents were interacting with the child appropriately," says
Verticchio. But the CAS must still get a good review of Christian's health
from the boy's doctor before closing the investigation.
Chris and Melissa say they don't smoke pot in their home in front of their
son and they never both smoke to the point of "impairment" at the same
time. They do smoke up once the baby has gone to bed or outside on the back
deck during television commercials.
And they've used marijuana in front of Christian at the beach and a pro-pot
rally.
The couple disagrees on whether second-hand marijuana smoke is bad for
Christian's health. Melissa smoked pot while she was pregnant, although she
did cut back a little from her usual amounts.
But after her son was born with a congenital heart defect that required
surgery when he was just five days old, she decided he shouldn't be exposed
to any smoke -- cannabis or otherwise.
Chris is less concerned about the effects of second-hand pot smoke on his
son, saying studies don't prove it's harmful.
Chris says the only reason, really, that they don't use marijuana in front
of their son all the time is because they don't want to be perceived as bad
parents.
I don't know what goes on at the Goodwin house when nobody's watching.
I don't like the thought of a child being exposed in any way at any time to
pot smoke, but I feel the same way about cigarettes.
And I don't know if the police are treating Chris Goodwin -- who has been a
thorn in their side since he opened his cafe a year ago -- fairly or not.
But what I do know is that a seven-month-old baby shouldn't become the core
of a public debate on marijuana.
He shouldn't be used to bolster anyone's arguments or be paraded or
targeted to serve anyone's agenda.
There shouldn't be pictures of him on a Cannabis Culture website.
There shouldn't have to be debates about him on radio talk shows.
And this column shouldn't wind up in Christian Goodwin's baby book.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman