In my time of cannabis activism in 2017 before the decriminalisation of cannabis I was pregnant and, in that time, became knowledgeable on what cannabis does for the Endocannabinoid System. First and foremost, cannabis has always been a tool for me to use to attend to my mental wellness. I was on pharmaceutical drugs before the pregnancy, but they weren’t recommended for use during pregnancy, and so cannabis was my only option. My extensive research led me to the benefits of cannabis on a molecular level in the increase of immunity.

Being a Muslim woman in the cannabis space there is always a lot of judgement in my sphere of existence. Therefore, initially I was very careful around choosing the right form of consumption to begin with. So, now equipped with the wealth of knowledge from my research where all the benefits and risks had been analysed, I first started with taking FECO. This assisted me on many levels, I felt great. It assisted me to cope with my mental illness and nausea throughout the first trimester.

As I neared the end of my first trimester, I was able to make the educated and well-informed decision to continue the use of cannabis through my second trimester. This was due to the copious amounts of research I did as well as being very lucky to have the full support from a Clinical Technologist here in South Africa that assisted me with clinical guidance when needed as well as the experiences of women in an all-female cannabis organisation in the USA.

From the outset, I started to experience a notable difference from my first pregnancy. During the canna-pregnancy I only experienced nausea twice throughout the entire term of the pregnancy, I had no back pain whatsoever, and there was no swelling in my hands and feet. What’s best of all was that I felt happy all the time, it was an overall enjoyable experience. I could eat well as the nausea was gone and was able to maintain a healthy diet that would cater to my baby’s needs and requirements.

There is a lack of information and the stigma attached to the use of cannabis. It’s been removed from medical journals for over a century. And so, medical professionals are being taught that the Endocannabinoid System is not applicable to our human development. This needs to change, more people need to speak out about their experiences. A pregnant woman is vulnerable. Her body is going through one of the most intense experiences that any person could go through.
When I was 5 and a half months into my pregnancy, I attended an event called 420 Sundaze. There, I witnessed a Rastafarian woman further along into her pregnancy than I was smoking a joint. Witnessing this gave me the confidence I required to indulge in my canna-pregnancy unconditionally.

I smoked joints, ate edibles, took FECO, smoked bongs; anything that I would have normally done if I were not pregnant. This was at the peak of my activism and so I had access to a wide variety of strains, but what worked for me the most were indica dominant hybrids.