Episode 17: WNYC’s Yasmeen Khan Explains how Pot is Used to Separate NYC Families

Few people realize that the war on marijuana involves more than just arrests and jail time. Often, it breaks up families. Coming on the heels of Mothers Day, this episode of the Hash looks at situations in which moms aren’t free to use cannabis. Both in New York City and throughout the US, pregnant moms often get tested for cannabis without their permission; young mothers can lose their newborns to agencies like NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services, or in divorce courts over safe use of marijuana. We caught up with WNYC public radio reporter Yasmeen Khan, who has been investigating the staggering rates at which children are separated from their parents in NYC because of cannabis use and other circumstances, to hear more about the women affected by this draconian policy.