The Ethics of Cannabis Use in Doula Work

When I first started offering cannabis-informed doula support, I had a lot of questions—not just from clients, but from other birthworkers. Is this ethical? What about liability? Are you encouraging use? What if someone reports you?

These are valid questions. This work sits in a space that’s still shifting, still stigmatized, still misunderstood. And that’s exactly why it’s so important to talk about the ethics behind it.

Because to me, being a cannabis-informed doula is about ethics. It’s about showing up for families with honesty, integrity, and a commitment to informed care.

Informed choice starts with honest information

When someone is pregnant, the amount of judgment they face around their body, their choices, their habits—it’s constant. Add cannabis to the mix, and that judgment often doubles. People are afraid to tell their providers. They don’t know what’s safe or legal. They don’t know if they’ll be reported or shamed.

Ethical care means not turning away from that reality. It means being willing to have the hard conversations. To say: “I see you. I trust you. Let’s look at the information together.”

I’m not here to push cannabis. I’m here to create space for informed decision-making. That includes looking at risks, benefits, laws, dosage, method of use, and how it all fits into the bigger picture of someone’s health.

Respecting autonomy, always

One of the most sacred parts of doula work is respecting autonomy. We don’t make choices for people—we walk with them as they make their own. That includes choices around pain management, feeding, parenting, and yes, cannabis.

If we truly believe in client-centered care, then we have to trust people to know what’s right for their own bodies. My role is to support them in that, not to judge or coerce.

Harm reduction is ethical care

I practice from a harm-reduction lens. That means I recognize that people are already using cannabis—during pregnancy, during birth, during postpartum. My job isn’t to pretend it’s not happening. It’s to offer support that makes it safer.

That might look like:

• Talking through the difference between THC and CBD

• Offering alternatives to smoking, like tinctures or topicals

• Looking at timing, dosage, and how to monitor effects

• Exploring the legal landscape and what it means for them

To ignore cannabis use doesn’t make someone safer. But offering real support? That might.

Navigating professional boundaries

I don’t offer or provide cannabis products. I don’t diagnose or treat. I stay in my scope. But I do talk about cannabis in the same way I’d talk about other tools in someone’s wellness toolkit—therapy, herbs, breathwork, epidurals.

I’ve also taken time to educate myself. I hold a Level-One Cannabis Certification, and I continue learning through courses, community conversations, and staying connected to the science.

That education is part of my ethical commitment—to do no harm, to center my clients’ well-being, and to offer care that’s rooted in knowledge, not assumptions.

This is about more than cannabis

At the end of the day, this isn’t just about a plant. It’s about who gets trusted. Who gets supported. Who gets shamed. It’s about showing up for people in ways that feel real, compassionate, and grounded.

Being a cannabis-informed doula is part of how I live out my values. It’s not separate from ethics—it’s guided by them.

If you’re a parent looking for support, or a doula wrestling with your own questions around this work, I’m always open to conversation.

Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep showing up.