In this piece for Leafly, I explored how a catch-22 that many American families face — parents who possess and/or imbibing in legal medical cannabis in their state (often for severe medical issues) can face, in some cases, parental rights questioned or taken away.
One mother I spoke to for this story, Lindsay Ridgell, has been fighting to have her name removed from the Department of Child Services’ registry, which blacklists her as a threat to children. She was placed on the list after using medical cannabis for an extreme case of Hyperemesis Gravidarum during pregnancy. Her son, who was born healthy, just turned 3 years-old and Ridgell is still fighting to clear her name.
