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Meet Danielle Simone Brand!
Meet Danielle, Author of the newest cannabis book out on the market. Her book Weed Mom: The Canna-Curious Woman's Guide to Healthier Relaxation, Happier Parenting, and Chilling TF Out (Ulysses Press, 2020) Is an excellent resource for new and experience cannabis consumers!
I had the pleasure of asking Danielle a few questions pertaining to her book and the publishing process. As a cannabis writer myself, I gather inspiration from other writers and look up to them. Danielle is one of the sweetest humans with a plethora of relevant and useful cannabis information in her book.
Danielle Simone Brand is a freelance writer covering the intersections between parenting and cannabis. A few years ago, she wouldn't have self-described as a "weed mom" but she's found her sparkle in writing about cannabis to inform, uplift, and occasionally challenge her readers while helping push the conversation forward. Her articles have appeared in numerous publications including The Week, Civilized, Vice, Double Blind, What’s Up Moms, and Scary Mommy. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA from American University and has worked as a yoga teacher and trainer, a staff writer, and a researcher on issues of international conflict resolution. Danielle lives with her husband, two kids, and a barky terrier in the Pacific Northwest.
Book back cover description:
Weed Mom is an essential guide for women interested in learning more about cannabis and how to naturally relax, de-stress, and be a better partner and parent. This first and only book made just for busy moms is packed with friendly and practical advice, including:
The basics of THC and CBD
What to look for at the dispensary
Microdosing to boost mood and stay productive
How to talk about cannabis with family and friends
Understanding the potential downsides
Using cannabis to enhance your sex life
And much more!
Whether you are new to the weed game or have experience using cannabis products, this book has something for everyone. You’ll find everything you need to know about taking back your health and wellness, free of stigma.
USA link below.
How was the process of writing and publishing a book?
The publishing world isn’t for the faint of heart or easily discouraged—I’ll admit that much! It’s truly a long labor of love to research and write a book and then usher it out in the world… but it’s also a huge privilege for me to have the book’s platform and reach to help spread my “canna-love for moms” message far and wide!
I was a freelance writer for a few years working mainly on the parenting and cannabis beats (mostly separately, sometimes together) before writing the book proposal and finding an agent and publisher for this project. Almost as soon as I signed my book deal, COVID hit and so I wrote all but a few chapters during the spring and summer lockdowns of 2020. That was interesting since my kids were home all the time and I’m a writer who really needs quiet. Fortunately, my partner was also home at the time and able to take on much more of the childcare while I locked myself away to write at all hours. (Thanks, baby!)
Are you planning to publish another book? Any ideas as to what you’d like to publish?
Authoring is kinda my ideal gig and I’m planning to keep it up! I have a few possibilities for a second book germinating… one involves an update to Weed Mom (Weed Mom 2.0 if you will). I think that one could be timely because the legality of cannabis here in the U.S. — and the cannabis marketplace in general — is evolving so quickly! I’m also really interested in other plant medicines such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, and ibogaine. Perhaps one of these days I’ll write a woman-friendly guide to the research and therapeutic possibilities of these other plant medicines. And a third potential project is a YA (young adult) work of fiction because I have a lot of interests and like to change things up periodically!
What are your favourite ways to consume cannabis?
I joke that I have about 800 favorite ways to consume cannabis! But really, the most effective method for me is the old-fashioned way—by smoking flower. I choose my cannabis flower carefully and consider how it was grown, who grew it (I try to support women-owned, and/or POC-owned operations), and how it looks, smells, tastes, and feels. Plant medicine works best, in my view, when it’s closest to its natural state—and I consider it a huge gift to be able to handle and smell cannabis flowers in all their aromatic glory!
That said, there are plenty of moments when it’s not convenient or socially acceptable to smoke flower, and then I turn to low-and-moderately-dosed edibles, or tabs and sublinguals. But I’ve also got patches, creams, gels, tinctures, and lube in my cannabis self-care toolkit and happily make use of them at the right moments. Cannabis gives us so much and helps in a wide variety of scenarios; I’m so thankful for her.
If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?
Interesting question! I’d go back about eighteen years and tell myself and my soon-to-be-husband that cannabis is medicine and that we should educate ourselves on how to use it properly as such. There were many years that he was using cannabis to self-medicate without a lot of knowledge around how to do it well, and consequently, I was often judgy and annoyed about his use. If we had known to dig more deeply, we could have educated ourselves on the subject, developed relationships with cultivators and experts (we were living in Northern California after all!), and become involved in legalization activism.
What I call my “cannabis epiphany” didn’t come until I was in my late 30s, and I sometimes wish I could have realized the plant’s many benefits and complexities earlier in life. Better late than never, right? That’s really the reason I wrote my book…. to help other women gain a full and accurate picture of the plant before I did!
What judgment have you faced being a mom and woman who uses cannabis?
I’ve certainly been trolled online by anti-pot groups and have had, at times, to use my “block” feature liberally! And though most of my family members and friends are supportive of my mission and my book, I’ve also gotten tons of messages about how some of them can’t publicly support my stance or comment on anything cannabis-related on social media, because they’re afraid of consequences for their job or their spouse’s job. (Here in the U.S., even people who live in legal states are often afraid of supporting cannabis because of its federal illegality; hopefully, that changes sooner rather than later!)
And I should add that even though I’m “out” as weed mom on the big ‘ol internet, I recently moved from a legal state to a non-legal state and am still cautious in my neighborhood; for a lot of people where I currently live, the long-time cannabis stigma is still in full effect, so I usually bring up the cannabis convo carefully with new acquaintances. Talking about CBD is a great entry point because it’s non-psychotropic and a lot of people are seeing its benefit.
" Cannabis is such a helpful and healing plant, and I want moms everywhere to know about the ways it can help with pain, mood, sleep, sex, and a bunch of other things! Plus, it’s a much healthier alternative to the “mommy juice” and “wine ‘o clock” alcohol culture; there’s really so much to love about cannabis once we shed the shame and stigmas.
I hope the cannamoms out there will find comfort and solidarity in my book, and that the canna-curious moms out there can learn about responsible and fun ways to integrate the plant into their lives. "
Thank you so much Danielle for your time! You can find her via the links below;
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellesimonebrand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.simone.brand
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-simone-brand/
Weed Mom’s publisher page: https://ulyssespress.com/books/weed-mom/
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