NYC children's services agency to settle with parent allegedly targeted for marijuana, race
gothamist.com
The judgement in a lawsuit brought by a parent is the first of its kind since marijuana was legalized

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    “Even after a judge required ACS to reunite Ms. Rivers with her baby, ACS continued to subject Ms. Rivers to needless court proceedings and a litany of conditions that interfered with her parenting of TW for months, while the unlawful removal of her baby was ratified by senior ACS leadership,” the complaint reads. “This was not because ACS was trying to protect TW; this was because Ms. Rivers is Black.”

    • CethinEnglish
      1•10 months ago

      Again, alcohol consumption has been shown to be safe below a certain level. Yes, “drug” use can be bad if abused, but that goes for all drugs, not just what people typically call drugs which are substances we’ve decided to regulate for usually no good reason. Caffeine can have negative side effects, but no one is taking people’s children away because they drank too much coffee.

      • @smollittlefrog@lemdro.idEnglish
        4•10 months ago

        According to the CDC, you’re wrong.

        There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant. There is also no safe time for alcohol use during pregnancy. All types of alcohol are equally harmful, including all wines and beer.

        The reason caffeine is not as much of a problem is because according to the CDC it has little to no effect on a baby. The worst effect linked to very high caffeine consumption is poor sleep, which is unsurprising.

        Caffeine […] does not adversely affect the infant when the mother consumes low to moderate amounts (about 300 milligrams or less per day, which is about 2 to 3 cups of coffee). Irritability, poor sleeping patterns, fussiness, and jitteriness have been reported in infants of mothers with very high intakes of caffeine, about 10 cups of coffee or more per day.

        Also according to LactMed, which is referred to by the CDC:

        Studies in mothers taking 5 cups of coffee daily found no stimulation in breastfed infants 3 weeks of age and older.

        We conclude: Alcohol does not have a safe level of consumption and is always bad for your child. Caffeine on the other hand is usually completely harmless and in the worst case only causes the normal effects of caffeine, not long term damage. They are not comparable.

        Now, is marijuana consumption more similar to alcohol, as in it causes long term damage to the child, or is it more similar to caffeine, as in it only has small and temporary effects on the child?

        According to the CDC, marijuana consumption is assumed to cause long term damage to the child.

        Some research shows that using marijuana while you are pregnant can cause […] abnormal neurological development.

        [S]tudies suggest that marijuana use by persons during pregnancy could be linked to problems with attention, memory, problem-solving skills, and behavior in their children later in life.

        It seems like marijuana is not just part of some “substances we’ve decided to regulate for usually no good reason”, but actually a harmful substance with reason to be regulated.

          • @smollittlefrog@lemdro.idEnglish
            1•10 months ago

            An opinion piece, published 15 years ago? Let’s look at current recommendations by renown organisations:

            HHS (USA: Department of Health & Human Services)

            It is not safe for women to drink any type or amount of alcohol during pregnancy.

            DHAC (Australia: Department of Health and Aged Care)

            No safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy or while breastfeeding has been identified.

            Even a small amount of alcohol can harm a baby’s development and may have lifelong effects.

            DHV (Germany: Deutscher Hebammenverband)

            Im Gegensatz zum Koffein gibt es bei Alkohol keine Menge, die für das ungeborene Kind unbedenklich ist. Es wird sogar empfohlen, bereits bei der Planung einer Schwangerschaft auf Alkohol zu verzichten. Selbst in geringen Mengen kann Alkohol zu Fehlbildungen, Wachstumsstörungen und einer Schädigung des Gewebes inklusive der Nervenzellen führen.

            Translation using DeepL:

            Unlike caffeine, there is no amount of alcohol that is safe for the unborn child. It is even recommended to avoid alcohol already when planning a pregnancy. Even in small amounts, alcohol can lead to malformations, growth disorders and damage to the tissue including the nerve cells.

            RCOG (UK: Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists)

            Although the risk of harm to the baby is low with small amounts of alcohol before becoming aware of the pregnancy, there is no ‘safe’ level of alcohol to drink when you are pregnant.

            There is no proven safe amount of alcohol a woman can drink during pregnancy.

            nidirect (Northern Ireland)

            Women are therefore strongly advised to not drink alcohol at all at any stage during pregnancy because there may be an increased risk of miscarriage. The current advice is to avoid alcohol completely.

            CDC (USA: Center for Disease Control and Prevention

            There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy

            • Doug HollandOPEnglish
              0•10 months ago

              Sound medical advice for pregnant women is always a good idea.

              Following sound medical advice is usually a good idea, too, at least since leeches went out of fashion.

              It’s not the law, though.