One North Texas Mother Convicted of Five Felonies for Breastfeeding One Child on Pot
Erica Tucker never would have imagined that a trip to the emergency room for her third grand mal epileptic seizure would send her and her husband to jail for child endangerment. The 33-year-old mother of five and former Bible school teacher had been smoking marijuana since 2015 to control the seizures. She says she couldn’t afford the prescription drugs that treat them.
In March 2016, a nurse asked her if she was breastfeeding, and Tucker said yes. Tucker says she didn’t realize the marijuana would pass through her breast milk to her infant son. But her son tested positive for marijuana, and a warrant was issued for Tucker’s arrest.
“No family should be ripped apart because of a natural medicine that is being legalized all over the country,” Tucker told the Observer in January. “We’re here to fight.”
That fight, for her, seems to be over. Tucker pleaded guilty on June 13 as part of a deal with Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hannah to five counts of child endangerment — one count of the felony charge for each of her children. Her husband awaits his trial for the same charges.
Read more: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/breastfeeding-on-pot-leaves-one-north-texas-mother-convicted-of-five-felonies-9606005