Exclusive: Mom's plea for kids amid ganja tea row

The mother of Marc Bean’s 19-year-old daughter is today sending out a stark message: “Leave my children out of this. They are innocent and do not deserve the scrutiny they are now under.”

She spoke out against those who feel the need to criticize her children after Opposition Leader Mr Bean revealed last Friday in the House of Assembly that he made his then-three-year-old “a big cup of ganja tea” to cure her asthma.

The child’s mom says since Mr Bean’s revelation last week, which was made during the debate surrounding the
findings of the Cannabis Reform Collaborative, she has been inundated with calls and messages via social media.

“I wish people would stop harassing me and my children,” she told us, adding that she even received a message asking whether she drugs her younger child and whether or not that child’s father [not Mr. Bean] was aware.

“I was so angry when I read that,” she says. “I expected some feedback when he [Mr Bean] said that on the floor [of the House], but to drag my innocent child into this is crazy… this has nothing to do with them.”

The mom asked not to be named and we will refer to her as Ms X for the purposes of this article.

She recalls hearing about Mr Bean’s revelation last week: “My mother called me and asked me if I had seen the paper. I told her I hadn’t and immediately went online.”

Describing her initial reaction as “shocked”, Ms X says while she was initially upset that Mr Bean spoke of the now infamous cup of ganja, she confirms that he is telling the truth. 

She talked about her daughter’s health as a child: “She suffered from asthma, badly. She was using Ventolin pumps twice a day to help her breathe. We were often in and out of the hospital.”

Explaining that Mr Bean was not actively involved in their daughter’s life initially because he was studying abroad in school, Ms X says that once he graduated, he spent lots of time with her and took her every weekend. She remembers Mr Bean, then a devout Rastafarian, telling her that he would “brew some herbs from the garden” which would help their daughter’s health condition. 

Mr Bean was a herbalist

“Because he was a herbalist, I didn’t question what he gave her because he was very into home remedies,” she says.

Over time, the girl’s symptoms began to subside. Within months, Ms X says, her daughter did not require any Ventolin at all to breathe. But Ms X says it wasn’t until two years later when she discovered what Mr. Bean had given their daughter.

“When she was about five, she was really congested from a cold and I asked him what would he recommend and he suggested the same tea he had given her two years before. It was then he told me what was in it.

“I was completely blown away by what he said and since she was no longer on the asthma medication, I believe the tea did play a role in ridding her of the asthma.”

As she thanks him for being a wonderful and caring father, Ms X says Mr Bean always goes above and beyond in his parental role.

“All of the political hoopla, I don’t care about it... my only concern is my child.”

Now, 17 years later, would she support parents giving their children marijuana tea?

“I would, although I have never given it to mine.”

Ms X says she has no regrets, nor is she angry with Mr Bean for giving their daughter the tea: “If I knew it harmed her in any way I would feel differently, so I see nothing wrong. She graduated from high school and is an absolutely healthy child and is gainfully employed. She does not indulge in anything to do with marijuana. Never has.”