By Steven Voser

Parenting is tough. It is one of the most dignified commitments you can make to raise a human to adulthood. There is round-the-clock pressure regarding all sorts of issues that could arise. Each parent finds their own way of coping. Many are known, for example, to enjoy a glass of wine in the evening to decompress. If a parent drank lots of alcohol, it would affect their ability to safely raise children. It could even drive them to neglect or violence. In extreme situations, we might consider such a parent unfit to raise children completely. But the same wouldn’t be said if they were drinking a moderate amount of alcohol at an appropriate time. No one would call that parent's abilities into question after one or two glasses of merlot.

Drinking has just been considered a part of life for so long. Cannabis was too, in many parts of the world, before the prohibition policies of the 20th century. The 21st century is seeing the advent of legal cannabis, regulated the way alcohol and tobacco are. This is being met with moral panic over the impact this will have on underage cannabis consumption. This is in spite of initial evidence showing a decline in cannabis use among Colorado teens since their state legalized cannabis for over-21s. Many cannabis consumers themselves are parents who have developed responsible parameters for their consumption. These people have nothing to be ashamed of.

Father Smokes Cannabis

CAN CANNABIS HELP WITH PARENTING?

The above analogy with alcohol may not be quite appropriate with cannabis. After all, alcohol poses significantly more health risks than cannabis. Cannabis also can't compete with alcohol in triggering the sort of aggressive, abusive behaviour we see from over-consumption of alcohol. Cannabis is associated with more mellowing effects, but couldn't these make a parent listless and low-energy, interfering with the focus needed to look after children? This plays into stereotypes around stoners being lazy and unmotivated. Such stereotypes persist in the face of abundant examples of successful cannabis users.

There is also diversity in the strains of cannabis available and in their subsequent impacts. Arguments could be made that moderate cannabis use helps parents see the joy in parenting. For example, a sativa-dominant strain can focus users with its uplifting buzz, even when facing mundane household tasks. A more playful state of mind could make one more present with their child at playtime. Indica-dominant strains can help soothe an anxious mind after a long day, helping parents get the sleep they need. Yet the idea of parents using cannabis at all is controversial in many places, including jurisdictions where adult use is legal.

UNFAIR STIGMA

There is something infantilising about being considered a bad adult for using cannabis. Especially if it has been legalized for adult use, but you are still judged for partaking because you're a parent. This is even more frustrating considering that alcohol, tobacco, and sugar have long been legal for parents to indulge in without a negative reflection on their character. Those substances are apparently not included in the rigid life of ascetic responsibility you must follow to be a decent parent. This ridiculous double-standard may not be applied as much to users with a known medical condition, but even they can still face dire consequences for consuming a medically beneficial herb.

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES

A place where the legal regime has created much confusion is the United States of America. The federal government under President Obama tolerated states legalizing the sale and production of cannabis for adults aged 21 and over. Trump's Attorney General  Jeff Sessions recently vowed a crackdown on cannabis in these states. This is especially misguided in contradicting the policy of many states who have legalized medical cannabis. There was already enough confusion over the federal government's position on this issue that has torn lives apart.

There was a mother, Shona Banda, who lost custody of her son in Kansas. After moving there from weed-tolerant Colorado, she continued to use cannabis to treat her Crohn's Disease. She had explained the medical impact and boundaries for responsible use to her son. When the son challenged an inconsistent school presentation on the danger of drugs, he was interrogated to reveal what his mother taught him. Facing five criminal charges, she had to make a plea bargain that involved moving to Spokane, Washington.

There is also the case of Max Lorincz, a Michigan resident and medical marijuana user. Police still arrested him and had his son taken into custody. A judge eventually dismissed the charges against him, but he is still struggling to regain custody of his son. A more unfortunate fate met Joshua Hill and Mary Sweeny, who were raising two-year-old Alexandria. Their night time recreational smoking was reported and Alexandria was taken into "protective custody". Her foster parents happened to be crack-users who ended up fatally injuring Alexandria. This is at least one child who died because of Texas' strict anti-cannabis laws.

Relaxed Father Smoking Cannabis

HOW TO BALANCE PARENTING AND CANNABIS

More and more stories abound of tragedy befalling families through unfair separation. This is to say nothing of how disproportionately people of colour are targeted for prosecution of marijuana offences. Even if nothing as extreme as losing custody happens, cannabis use could ruffle the feathers of ignorant neighbours or employers. If parents can enjoy alcohol as part of a balanced parenting life, and if cannabis is starting to be legalized with parameters similar to alcohol, then responsible parents should not be stigmatised for appropriate cannabis use. Of course, parents must be impeccable with their responsibility and never condone underage use of recreational cannabis. But with open communication, parents have found ways to educate children without affecting their wellbeing.

As a society, we need to highlight the more positive stories to help end stigma. After all, medical marijuana company Eaze have some interesting statistics on their customers. They even found that 63% of respondent parents consume cannabis on a daily basis! The Guardian surveyed cannabis-using parents who offered pieces of advice on finding balance with cannabis and raising kids. See examples below.

ADVICE FROM PARENTS

"If parents can sit about and have a moderate drink of wine or beer around their kids then smoking a joint shouldn’t be classed as anything different." – Merry, London, UK

"I wouldn't smoke in front of [my kids] at this point. I'm not sure it would instill confidence and consistency in them and that's my job being a parent." – Buddy, 47, Los Angeles, California, US

"One must always keep in mind there is a time and place for things. That is the real issue. If it is not a time to drink, it is not a time to smoke. That keeps things pretty even." – Rob, 59, Gig Harbor, Washington, US

"I didn't smoke weed around my kids when they were younger, not because I was ashamed of my drug use, but because it is illegal and I didn't want to encourage them to break the law. Now that they are grown up, and have discovered weed on their own, I smoke with them." – Steve, 40, Aberdeen, Scotland

"I feel weed makes me a better, calmer, more interactive parent, I ask my daughter more questions, have the patience to sit and teach her new things, go on long exploratory walks and spend longer playing with her than I would if I hadn't been smoking, I feel it's really brought us closer." – Lucy, 25, Portsmouth, UK

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: