Woman Gets Berated By Sister-In-Law After Her Teen Niece Ate Her Special Candies—'I Will Not Childproof My Home For Teenagers'
The girl was trying to use her phone as a remote control when her aunt found her.
Roman Samborskyi, OpenRangeStock, Red Fox studio / Shutterstock With marijuana legal in almost half of the states in the U.S., it is far more common for people to be more open about their own usage and less apt to hide it from friends and family. That makes it easy to forget that the psychoactive drug derived from an innocent-looking cannabis plant can be extremely dangerous in the hands of kids.
One woman took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for inadvertently giving her teenage niece access to her weed-infused candy when she came over to babysit. She posted in the AITA (Am-I-The-A—Hole) subreddit to ask readers if she made a mistake when she neglected to keep the product out of reach of the young girl.
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The Redditor started by explaining that she uses the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, to relax and that she is in a state where it is legal. She does have small children and according to her, keeps her medicated candies up high in the closet to ensure they are not ingested by them.
Her niece wound up consuming her edibles and now her family is furious.
The weekend before she posted her story, her niece, Lacey came over to babysit, something she regularly does. The Redditor wrote, “She is a good girl and I like having her over to give her a break from her mom. My sister-in-law is a loving wife and mother, but her personal beliefs can be a little overwhelming.”
While Lacey was with the children, she had a sweet tooth and wanted something to satisfy her craving. The smaller children directed her to their mom’s not-so-secret stash of candy sitting on top of the closet and the teen happily ate some of the woman’s sour gummy edibles, unaware that they had marijuana in them.
Needless to say, by the time the poster got home, Lacy was extremely high and “on the couch staring at her phone and trying to use it as a tv remote.” Taking it all in stride, the woman called her brother and told him that her niece would be spending the night, which he had no problem with. She refrained from sharing that his daughter had inadvertently become under the influence of drugs.
The concerned aunt talked to Lacey in the morning about the negative impact of using THC “a lot” when you are young. The girl asked questions and apologized to her aunt for going into her closet and getting the candies without authorization.
When the girl returned home, she told her mother what had happened, and the woman exploded in a fit of rage. The Redditor claims her sister-in-law called her a “drug addict” that should be in jail. The angry mom suggested she childproof her home if she insisted on having narcotics in it. The teen has been restricted from babysitting for her aunt and the woman wants feedback on her actions.
Surprisingly, she was overwhelmingly voted NTA (not the a—hole) and people seemed to find humor in the situation. They thought the woman had placed her edible out of reach and that Lacey had violated her privacy by snooping in her closet and ‘stealing’ the candy. Many were skeptical about the girl ‘accidentally eating them since by law, the packages must be clearly labeled and include warnings against underage consumption.
Perhaps this situation was funny to people, but the use of marijuana among teens is no laughing matter. Their brains are still actively developing and won’t stop until they are about 25. Marijuana use during that time can lead to difficulty with thinking and solving problems, memory issues, learning difficulties, a reduction in coordination, low attention span, and social issues.
Marijuana use in teens has also been linked to an increased risk of mental health issues like depression and anxiety. And the earlier usage starts the higher the possibility of having schizophrenia or temporary psychosis. 3 in 10 people end up becoming addicted, especially those who started using it early. So It’s not enough to hide your weed from the kids. They have to never know it’s even in the home.
NyRee Ausler is a writer from Seattle, Washington, and author of seven books. She covers lifestyle and entertainment and news, as well as navigating the workplace and social issues.